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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



THE FIRST CENTORY-"-^ 



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RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, 



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1780-1880. 




RICHMOND: 

carlton McCarthy, 

819 Broad Street, 
1880. 



I** C O|rc * E»Ij 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 18SQ, 

By CARLTON McCARTHY, 

in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



. t 



To 
JAMES THOMAS, Jr. 

THIS VOLUME, 

MEMORIAL OF THE CHURCH HE LOVES SO 

WELL AND SERVES SO LIBERALLY, 

IS APPROPRIATELY AND 

AFFECTIONATELY 

DEDICATED. 



The Editor. 






', 



CONTENTS. 



INTRODUCTION. 



IT. 



discourses; sketches, and addresses . 

History of the Church, by J. L. Burrows . 

Deceased Pastors, by W. D. Thomas 

Houses of Worship . .... 

" House of One Franklin," by W. H. Gwathmey 

Houses of Worship, by C. Walthall 
Officers of the Church, by J. B. Watkins . 
History of the Sunday-school, by C.Walthall 
Jeter Memorial ..... 

Relation of the Church to Education, by J. L. M 
Curry 

Address, by J. B. Hawthorne 
The Church in its Relation to Missions, by H. A. Tup per 
Origin and History of the First African Church, by Robert 

Ryland 
Fraternal Addresses . 

By Basil Manly 

By E. W. Warren 

By H. McDonald 
Sermon, by T. T. Eaton 
Extempore Addresses 

By Thomas Hume, J] 

By W. H. Williams 

By J. Wm. Jones 

By J. B. Hawthorne, Pastor 



PAGE. 

9-39 



41-334 

43-io5 
107-139 
141-152 

143 

148 

153-172 

173-184 

185-209 

187 
T90 
211 

245 
273-294 

275 
283 
292 
295 
319-334 
321 

325 
330 
333 



III. 

SUPPLEMENTARY STATISTICS AND STATEMENTS 
INDEX ..... 



335-350 
351 



I. 

INTRODUCTION. 

BY 

H. A. TUPPER. 



INTRODUCTION. 



THE First Baptist Church of Richmond, Vir- 
ginia, holds a leading position among the 
Baptists of the State and of the South. This 
eminence has been acquired by the number and 
strength of its membership, the ability and 
piety of its pastors, the variety and utility of its 
activities, the unity and conservatism of its 
spirit, the wide-spread influence it has exerted 
more or less directly in the counsels of the 
denomination, and the venerableness of its age 
crowned with memories of triumphs of grace 
all through its long conflict of faith. It was fit, 
therefore, that, with the approach of its one- 
hundredth anniversary, thoughts should arise 
of special thank-offerings to the Lord, and of 
some suitable commemoration of the Divine 
Goodness and Guidance. 

At the first "Conference Meeting" of the 

ii 



12 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

Church in the year 1880, on the evening of the 
twenty-sixth of January, the following- paper, 
presented by Hon. J. L. M. Curry, LL.D., was 
adopted as the sentiment of the Church : 

This First Baptist Church of Richmond was organized in 
1780, before the Revolutionary War had closed, or the inde- 
pendence of the United States had been acknowledged by- 
Great Britain. Richmond was then a village of less than two 
thousand inhabitants. The Church was organized, under the 
pastorship of Rev. Joshua Morris, with fourteen members. 
From these feeble beginnings, in those dark days, this Church 
has grown to be one of the largest and most useful Churches 
in America. It seems meet that we should take a review of 
the past, thankfully recognize the Father's goodness in our 
past history, set up our Ebenezer, and "take courage" for 
new and enlarged activities in the future. Therefore, 

Resolved, I . That as a Church we here record our heartfelt 
gratitude to God for his abundant and continuing mercies, and 
recognize the duty of newly consecrating ourselves to the work 
of holding forth the word of life and showing our love in all 
holy conversation and godliness. 

Resolved, 2. That a Committee of eleven be appointed, who 
shall take such steps as may be needful for celebrating by the 
Church, in a becoming manner, its one hundredth anniversary. 

On Wednesday evening, the fourth of Febru- 
ary, the Pastor, Rev. J. B. Hawthorne, D. D., 
announced the names ensuing as the Committee 
appointed under the Second resolution : 

J. L. M. Curry, H. A. Tupper, James Thomas, 
Jr., R. H. Bosher, A. P. Fox, Wm. G. Dan- 
dridge, P. H. Starke, Coleman Wortham, John 



CELEB RA TION OF THE FIRS T CENTENAR Y. I 3 

C. Williams, R. W. Powers, and Wm. H. Tur- 
pin. 

On motion of Mr. R. H. Bosher, the Pastor 
was added to the Committee. 

As the result of their deliberations, the Com- 
mittee reported to the Church, on the twenty- 
fourth of May, that the eighth and ninth days of 
June next had been set apart for a Centennial 
Celebration, which would be utilized for the 
proposed Jeter-Memorial; and that they had 
advertised the following Programme — modified 
by the editor into accord with the actual facts of 
the occasion : 

PROGRAMME. 



TUESDAY, 8th JUNE, 10 A. M. 

MUSIC. 

READING SCRIPTURES. 

By the Pastor, Rev. J. B. Hawthorne, D. D. 

PRAYER. 
By Rev. H. A. Tupper, D. D. 

MUSIC. 

HISTORY OF THE CHURCH. 

By Rev. J. L. Burrows, D. D., of Kentucky. 



I 4 CELEBRA TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 

MUSIC. 

SKETCHES OF DECEASED PASTORS. 

By Rev. W. D. Thomas, D. D. of Virginia. 

DOXOLOGY. 

BENEDICTION. 

AFTERNOON SESSION, 4 o'clock. 



MUSIC. 



READING SCRIPTURES. 

By Rev. B. Manly, D. D., of Kentucky 

PRAYER. 
By Rev. J. H. Eager, of Virginia. 

MUSIC. 

THE HOUSES OF WORSHIP. 

By Deacon C. Walthall. 
MUSIC. 

SKETCHES OF OFFICERS. 

By J. B. Wat kins, Esq. 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. I 5 

THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 

By Deacon C. Walthall. 

ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF THE FIRST AFRICAN CHURCH. 

By Rev. Robert Ryland, D. D., of Kentucky. 

DOXOLOGY. 

BENEDICTION. 



NIGHT SESSION, 8 o'clock. 
JETER MEMORIAL. 

MUSIC. 

PRAYER. 
By Rev. E. W. Warren, D. D., of Georgia. 

MUSIC. 

RELATION OF THE CHURCH TO EDUCATION. 

By Hon. J. L. M. Curry, LL. D. Read by Dr. Burrows. 

MUSIC. 

Address by Rev J. B. Hawthorne, D. D. 

MUSIC. 

Address by Rev. Wm. E. Hatcher, D.D. Collection Conducted 
by J. L. Burrows, D. D. 

DOXOLOGY. 
BENEDICTION. 



I 6 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 
WEDNESDAY, 9 th JUNE, 10 A. M. 

MUSIC. 

READING SCRIPTURES. 

By Rev. E. W. Warren, D. D. 

PRAYER. 
By Rev. B. Manly, D. D. 

MUSIC. 

THE CHURCH IN ITS RELATION TO MISSIONS. 

By Rev. H. A. Tupper, D. D. 
MUSIC. 

FRATERNAL ADDRESSES. 

By Revs. B. Manly, D. D., E. W. Warren, D. D., H. Mc- 
Donald, D. D. 

DOXOLOGY. 
BENEDICTION. 



EVENING SERVICE, 8 o'clock. 

SERMON- 
By Rev. T. T. Eaton, D. D. 

EXTEMPORE ADDRESSES. 

MUSIC BY CHOIR. 

DOXOLOGY- 
BENEDICTION. 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. \ J 

The morning of the eighth of June, 1880, 
dawned brightly and blandly, as in sympathy 
with the joyous scenes to be inaugurated by it, 
and by which itself was to be made a lasting 
remembrance. At an early hour — perhaps two 
hours before the appointed time — many per- 
sons found their way to the Church. Some 
were attracted, doubtless, by the rumors of the 
tasteful floral decorations provided by the ladies. 
For over the vestibule was wreathed in green 
and gold: "Constituted 1780." The same, in 
gold letters, was displayed over the pulpit, be- 
tween the portraits of Andrew Broaddus, Sr., 
and J. B. Jeter. The whole front of the rostrum 
was enclosed and concealed by a deep and 
conical arrangement of choice plants and flowers 
- — native and exotic — the apex of the cone, or 
rather its truncation, on a level with the upper 
line of the speaker's stand. Other adornings 
were in keeping with this central ornamentation. 

The building was soon crowded. The church 
and community were quick with the spirit of 
the Celebration. It was to be more than the 
festivity of a single church or even denomina- 
tion. In directing public attention to the anti- 
cipated anniversary, a city-paper voiced the 
spirit of the occasion in this language: 



I 8 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

The numerous denomination of Christians of whom this 
Church has been a century plant of wondrous growth and be- 
neficence will take and diffuse a genuine interest in this en- 
suing memorial of a religious body whose history is almost 
the history of Richmond. But the interest will by no means 
be confined to Baptists. For that large catholicity of religious 
sentiment which pervades the pious people of Richmond will 
joyously hail an opportunity, such as this, to express itself in 
fraternal gratulations and gratitude to the good Giver who has 
preserved and strengthened the weak and tender plant, until, 
with strong root, towering trunk, and broad branch, it stands 
an object of moral beauty, and better, a source of moral and 
spiritual blessings to thousands who have crossed the flood 
and others who are crossing now. There is scarcely a State in 
the Union in which there does not live some former member 
of this illustrious old Church. Her sons and daughters will 
come from afar to offer thank-offerings for her life and history. 

The general interest was deepened by seve- 
ral circumstances; 

The Pastor was permeated with the Centen- 
nial idea, and dispensed himself "in season and 
out of season" — in pulpit and parlor; in stores 
and on the streets; and seemed bent on lifting 
up the people to his own lofty conception of 
the occasion. 

Rev. J. L. Burrows, D. D., who had been 
pastor of the Church for twenty years, and was 
one of the most popular men that ever lived in 
Richmond, had, the night previous, delivered in 
the Church a grand lecture on "America's Con- 
tribution to the Wealth of the World." The 



CELEB RA TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. I 9 

day before that, on Sunday, the sixth of June, 
the pulpit had been occupied by two other ex- 
pastors, Rev ; Drs. Basil Manly and E. W. 
Warren. The sermon of the one was elegant 
and elevating, mellow and melting: that of the 
other proved the instrument in God's hands of 
quickening into new life at least one soul — a 
precious and prayer-begirt daughter of the 
congregation. Besides, Dr. Robert Ryland — 
"the noblest Roman of them all" — was among 
the people who will never cease to lament his 
quitting the "Old Dominion." 

Around each of these men of God clustered 
associations, tender and sacred. They belonged 
to different periods of the history of the Church ; 
but each period was represented in the Church 
and congregation. At their appearance blessed 
memories came trooping up, and each was in- 
vested with peculiarly loving and reverential 
regard. These generous sympathies moved 
in circles; but these circles crossed, and blended, 
and were in perfect harmony, until the forces 
attracting to the several centres caught and 
held every member and every family of the 
Church. 

Further, the city had not recovered from the 
shock of Dr. Jeter's death, and it was commonly 



20 CELEBRATION OF TH>E FIRST CENTENARY. 

understood that some memorial to him would 
be advocated in the celebration. Finally, the 
people were in a mood for public gatherings. 
The General Association of Virginia, held in 
Petersburg, only twenty miles distant, was just 
adjourned. Many of our people had attended 
the inspiriting sessions of that body. Delegates 
and visitors accompanied, or followed, our citi- 
zens to Richmond. This and other company, 
enlivening many homes with beauty and bril- 
liant talk, kept alive and intensified the social 
and public sentiment, and added no little to the 
occasion by the profound personal interest of 
these almost strangers. 

These circumstances all tending to the com- 
mon end, the first session of the celebration 
found a grave audience instinct with eager ex- 
pectation and undisguised enthusiasm. 

Punctually at ten o'clock, the choir burst 
forth in the anthem : " We praise thee, O 
Lord." With this announcement, Dr. Haw- 
thorne, accompanied by the gentlemen who 
were to participate in the morning exercises, 
appears on the platform, like Saul among his 
brethren. After the music, he holds up an old 
time-worn Bible, with lower edge literally worn 
away some half of an inch by the preacher's 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 21 

peculiar habit of thumbing while preaching, and 
says: "This was John Kerr's Bible, which he 
preached from when Pastor of this Church, fifty 
years ago." Here was started another current 
of exciting interest. With sonorous voice, he 
read from the venerable volume the Ninetieth 
and Ninety-First Psalms — Scriptures as appro- 
priate as if written for the occasion. After 
prayer, an old Hymn-book was exhibited, as 
"the one first used in the present building." 
The Pastor said: "Some people criticise our 
modern music. Suppose I 'line out' a hymn 
that our fathers used to sing from this book, 
with twenty-one stanzas, and request that the 
last stanza be repeated!" 

Following music — not from the old Hymn- 
book — Dr. Burrows was introduced as "need- 
ing no introduction." His paper, with the other 
papers, will be duly noticed. After his dis- 
course, Rev. Wm. D. Thomas, D.D., was feli- 
citously presented by Dr. Hawthorne, who, by 
the way, in introducing speakers, and turning 
every incident to good account, and in presiding 
generally over the meetings, excelled himself. 
As we are touching now merely the incidentals 
of the celebration, let it be remarked, that the 
occasional jeux d' esprit were delicate and titti- 
3 



2 2 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

lating, and diffused good feeling throughout the 
audience. At times, the humor was broader, 
and, as the Psalmist says: "Our mouth was 
filled with laughter." As suggestive — though 
only dimly suggestive — of the mild pleasantry 
that sometimes blended with the beautiful and 
the pathetic during the Celebration, this item 
from a report of the State is selected : 

Dr. Hawthorne said, thirty years ago, when he was a " very 
little boy," Dr. Manly was called as a pastor to this Church. 

Dr. Manly, of Kentucky, said if Dr. Hawthorne was a very 
little boy thirty years ago, he had grown marvelously since. 
Somebody had treated him well. He had helped and been 
instrumental in having the Richmond Female Institute estab- 
lished. Had been its president and teacher. He went there 
yesterday to see if, in the sweet pupils, there was as much 
beauty as when he was there. No, he said, not so much beauty 
because there were not as many beauties. The gentle daughters 
of his pupils he saw. Like another, he felt like weeping and 
raining tears on the golden tresses of the young maidens he 
saw, for the sake of their mothers under the sod, whom he 
had taught. To others beautifully and pathetically he re- 
ferred. 

The afternoon session of the first day was 
enlivened by the exhibition from the rostrum of 
a large pencil-sketch of the old church-house on 
Cary Street, occupied previous to the year 1802, 
prepared by Mr. George A. Minor, to illustrate 
the paper of Deacon Walthall on the " Houses 
of Worship." A similar illustration, on a more 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 2$ 

extended scale, by the same gentleman, of the 
" House of one Franklin," where the Church 
was organized in 1780, was also on hand, but 
was not presented to the audience, as the paper 
on that house, by Deacon W. H. Gwathmey, 
was not quite finished. These pictorial remind- 
ers of the humble beginnings of the Church 
will be committed, it is understood, to the "His- 
torical Society." 

Like a General, Dr. Burrows, in conducting 
the collection-^dLKK. of the "Jeter-Memorial" 
meeting, with pleasant peremptoriness, ordered 
Drs. Hawthorne and Warren, with the writer, 
to " go among the people," which they were 
" forward to do." The Pastor had said that the 
Celebration would " culminate " in this session ; 
but, in the glow kindled next morning by the 
" Fraternal Addresses," he exclaimed : " This is 
the great day of the feast." At night, amid the 
closing speeches, which he called " declarations 
of love," he revised again his judgment, affirm- 
ing this last session " the feast of fat things." 

It was greatly regretted that Rev. D. B. 
Winfree, D. D., who had served the Church 
most acceptably during Dr. Burrows' engage- 
ment in the Memorial work for Richmond Col- 
lege, and whose name was on the original pro- 



24 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

gramme, could not be present. Rev. Duncan 
McGregor, another admired supply of the 
Church, was on the other side of the ocean. 
The absence of Dr. Curry in Europe was de- 
plored. 

No account of the Celebration could be satis- 
factory without some notice of the music. Now 
grand, then exquisite, always inspiring gratitude 
and praise, it heightened the enthusiasm of the 
meetings. The choir was composed as follows : 

Sopranos. 

MRS. JACOB REINHARDT. 

MISS C. V. WYATT. 

Alto. 
MRS. JOHN H. KNOWLES. 

Tenors. 

MR. EDWARD H. HOFF. 

MR. FRANK W. CUNNINGHAM. 

Basses. 

MR. U. B. PLEASANTS. 

MR. ALEX. ABERNETHY. 

Organist and Director. 
PROF. JACOB REINHARDT. 

As the hymns and tunes of our Fathers in- 
terest their children of this age, so the following 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 25 

record may not be uninteresting to our poster- 
ity at the close of another century; 

FIRST DAY. 

MORNING. 

i. Te Deum. — We Praise Thee O Lord Warren. 

CHOIR. 

2. Palm Branches — (Baritone Solo) Faitre. 

MR. U. B. PLEASANTS. 

3. I Know that my Redeemer Liveth — (Sop. Solo ). Handel. 

MRS. JACOB REINHARDT. 

4. Old Hundred 

CHOIR AND CONGREGATION. 



AFTERNOON. 

i. Softly now the Light of Day Abbott. 

CHOIR. 

2. Be Thou Faithful unto Death (Tenor Solo.) 

Mendelssohn. 
MR. EDWARD H. HOFF. 

3. One Sweetly Solemn Thought — (Barit. Solo.) Ambrose. 

MR. A. ABERNETHY. 

4. Old Hundred 

CHOIR AND CONGREGATION. 



EVENING. 

i. Trio. — Protect Us Thro' the Coming Night. 

Curschman. 
MRS. REINHARDT, MRS. KNOWLES, MR. HOFF. 

3* 



2 6 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

2. Home of the Soul — (Tenor Solo) 

MR. F. W. CUNNINGHAM. 

3. Beyond the Smiling and the Weeping Bonar. 

4. Old Hundred 

CHOIR AND CONGREGATION. 



SECOND DAY. 

MORNING. 

i. Venite.— O Come, Let Us Sing, etc Millard. 

CHOIR. 

2. How Sweetly Flowed the Gospel-Sound. 

Sir J. Bowring. 

3. Go Preach the Blest Salvation Sidney Dyer. 

4. Old Hundred 

CHOIR AND CONGREGATION. 

EVENING. 

1. Consider the Lilies — (Soprano Solo) Topliff. 

MISS C. V. WYATT. 

2. If with all your Hearts — -(Tenor Solo). ..Mendelssohn. 

MR. EDWARD HOFF. 

3. Blest be the Tie that Binds Fawcett. 

4. Gloria in Excelsis Mozart. 

CHOIR. 
Among the most interested and physically 
active in the celebration was " Jefferson, " who 
having served the office of Sexton faithfully for 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 2*] 

many years, deserves here honorable mention ; 
as well as his predecessor, Carter Page, who 
seemed much like Anna of old, " which depart- 
ed not from the Temple," and who was so 
devoted to the very brick and mortar of the 
Church, that when some extensive changes were 
made he was overwhelmed with grief, and died, 
it is said by a physician, of " a broken heart." 

Ample accommodations were made for re- 
porters ; and the press, secular and religious, 
furnished elaborate reports of the proceedings. 

The two discourses of the first session occu- 
pied just three hours. Other papers and ad- 
dresses also were necessarily long. All the 
documents are herein published. The editor 
has thought, however, that some synopsis of 
them might be of advantage to the reader. 
With this view, and in order to present a con- 
nected narrative of the several sessions, the 
report of the Religious Herald, of the seven- 
teenth of June, with a few needed changes, is 
here transcribed : 

Rev. J L. Burrows, D.D., of Kentucky, from 1854 to 1874, 
Pastor of the Church, delivered the first discourse, which was 
a " Centennial History of the Church." Its delivery occupied 
nearly two hours ; but the author's fine elocution and the in- 
trinsic interest of the paper enchained the undivided attention 
of the assembly. In alluding to his entrance upon the pasto- 



28 CELEBRATION OE THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

rate with a wife and little children, and leaving it, after twenty- 
years, " a lonely man," family all dead or scattered, and to 
the death of " devout women not a few," the Doctor's emotion 
overcame him for a moment, and speaker and people were 
melted to tears. 

The address began with a general view of Virginia's and 
Richmond's condition in 1780, in relation to politics, popula- 
tion, commerce, agriculture, architecture, and manufactures, 
the means and rate of travel, etc. Virginia's vast territory, 
war history, currency, historic names, and fabulous provision 
prices were vividly recited, and the village of Richmond, with 
eighteen hundred inhabitants, well described. Brief sketches 
of early Baptist ministers and churches also preceded the im- 
mediate history of the organization and growth of the Church. 
Fourteen members formed the Church, which met in the house 
of a Mr. Franklin, on Union Hill, who was, no doubt, a mem- 
ber. The loss of the first record book leaves us in ignorance 
of the names of the other thirteen. Though unregistered here, 
their " record is on high." After some moving about, the next 
place of meeting was between Second and Third Streets, front- 
ing Cary. The third, by the gift of Dr. P. Turpin, was the 
house of worship erected on the present site of the First Afri- 
can Church, which was abandoned for the spacious edifice now 
occupied by the Church. In 1790, the membership had in- 
creased to 200, in 1824 to 820, and in 1841 to over 2,000, when 
the colored element withdrew to form the African Church, 
leaving about 400 white members. Rev. Joshua Morris was 
pastor from 1780 to 1787, Rev. John Courtney from 1788 to 
1824, the date of his death. Rev. John Kerr was pastor from 
1825 to 1832, Rev. Isaac Taylor Hinton from 1833 to 1835, 
Rev. J. B. Jeter from 1836 to 1849, R ev - Basil Manly, Jr., from 
1850 to 1854, and Rev. J. L. Burrows as above stated. The 
salient traits of these men were hastily delineated, as well as 
those of the co-pastors and pastors pro tern., Keeling, Broaddus, 
Taylor, Ryland, Jennett, Winfree, Curry, and Tupper. He 
concluded with a resume, showing that one church of fourteen 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 29 

members in 1780 had swelled to nineteen churches, in Rich- 
mond and Manchester, in 1880, numbering 16,847 members. 
Dr. Burrows ended his address by an appropriate reference to 
the pastorates of his successors, Drs. Warren and Hawthorne. 

Rev. W. D. Thomas, D. D., of Norfolk, reared and baptized 
in this Church, followed in an admirable address, sketching dis- 
criminatingly the "Characters of the Deceased Pastors of the 
Church." Of Morris, the materials were meagre. Yet, from 
his career in Kentucky and glimpses of history, it was evident 
he was a useful, earnest minister of the gospel, though he had 
few advantages of education. The primitive simplicity, sin- 
cere piety, stern truthfulness, and ministerial industry of Court- 
ney, and his John-like tenderness in old age, were happily 
illustrated by incidents and occasional amusing expressions. 
The portrayal of John Kerr was striking and life-like. His 
superb natural gifts of oratory were exemplified by specimens 
furnished by the ready and retentive memory of the venera- 
ble Rev. E. Dodson. The organizing ability and culture of 
Rev. I. T. Hinton, with his sound and impressive preaching, 
had due attention. Dr. Thomas then drew a bold and inde- 
pendent picture of Dr. Jeter's character, clearly reflecting his 
" father in the gospel " as a man, thinker, writer, and preacher. 
We regret that the limits of this article do not allow details. 
Dr. Thomas also sketched the characters of Bryce, Broaddus, 
Keeling, Jennett, etc. His paper was throughout chaste and 
thoughtful. 

At the afternoon session Deacon Christopher Walthall, one 
of the oldest and best informed members, read two papers — 
one describing the structures, location, improvements, etc., of 
the several Houses of Worship, and the other giving a history 
of the Sunday School in connection with the Church. The 
probable date of its organization was believed to be 18 17, and 
four teachers and six pupils, perhaps, its initial numbers. The 
names of the superintendents, some of the teachers, and other 
interesting facts were given, constituting a mass of information 
of much value for future use and preservation. General satis- 



5 O CEL E BRA TION OF THE. FIRS T CENTENAR Y. 

faction was evinced at the manner in which the part assigned 
Deacon Walthall was performed. 

J. B. Watkins, Esq., followed with a fine limning of the 
Officers of the Church. The earliest known officers, down to 
the latest departed, were depicted ; more length of portraiture 
given, of course, to those of longest service and widest noto- 
riety. Thus the traits of Clerks Crane and McCarthy, and 
Deacons Frayser, Winston, Farrar, Reins, Sizer, Thomas, and 
Crane, were more vividly drawn. The diversified features of 
the last four were critically analyzed and contrasted, we think 
justly, and the grateful fact adduced that, while God gives 
"diversities of gifts, there is the same Spirit." Mr. Watkins' 
address was carefully prepared and handsomely delivered. 

Again, at night, a large congregation filled the Church, and 
the services were directed in the interest of the "Jeter Memo- 
rial." 

Rev. Dr. Burrows read an excellent, brief paper, prepared 
by Dr. J. L. M. Curry, before his departure to Europe, on the 
" Relation of the Church to Education." It stated that, in 
1833, as shown by the minutes, Elder John Kerr, the pastor, 
was President of the Virginia Education Society, out of which 
grew the Seminary, and afterwards Richmond College. The 
Treasurer and five of the Managers were members of this 
Church. Ever since, the Education Board has had represen- 
tatives from the Church, and also generous donations, and the 
College, in its Trustees and Faculty, has depended somewhat 
on the Church. Efforts for endowment have received from it 
efficient help, and it is the only Church in the State which has 
a scholarship in the College for the education of sons of Bap- 
tist ministers. Richmond Female Institute has ever found in 
the Church zealous and liberal friends, patrons, Trustees, and 
Teachers. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has 
always been the constant recipient of First Church benefac- 
tions, in efforts for endowment and support of students and 
Faculty. Reference was also made to the recognition, on the 
part of the Church, of the potency of education in moulding 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 3 I 

and vitalizing man's whole being, and bringing it into accord 
with the will of God. Allusion was also made to the mani- 
fested interest of the Church in the objects of the "Jeter Memo- 
rial" — to wit, the providing a hall in the proposed addition to 
the college building, in which should be deposited, along with 
his bust or picture, the books and manuscripts bequeathed by 
Dr. Jeter to the College. 

The pastor, Rev. Dr. J. B. Hawthorne, delivered an elo- 
quent address, in which he claimed that gratitude for the great 
mercies received from the Lord should impel his people to use 
means in the upbuilding of our College, than which nothing 
was more vitally important to the progress of a religious deno- 
mination and the extension of divine truth. And the interests 
of the College might be promoted, and a deserved and appro- 
priate monument, at the same time, erected to the memory of 
Dr. Jeter, one of the most efficient pastors of the Church, by 
adding another wing to the buildings, with a Hall to be called 
after the departed veteran. Dr. Hatcher followed in a brief 
and spirited address, Dr. Burrows conducted the collection, 
and over $6,000 were subscribed. 

On Wednesday morning there was another meeting, at 
which the Rev. Dr. H. A. Tupper read a summary of an ex- 
cellent paper he had prepared, detailing the Connection of the 
Church with Missions during the century. The Doctor deli- 
cately declined to use the time needed for its entire reading, 
that others from a distance might have ample opportunity to 
be heard. 

He divided the Centennial History of the Church into three 
periods, showing that during the first period, from 1780 to 
18 1 3, Joshua Morris and John Courtney were practical friends 
of Missions, and the Virginia Foreign Missionary Society was 
organized in this Church in 1813, the first, it is said, south of 
Philadelphia. 

Second period, 181 3 to 1846. Luther Rice represented funds 
of the Church in the General Convention. The Female Mis- 
sionary Society and the Sewing Society of the Church were 



32 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 



organized before 1816. The latter has sometimes given $700 
per annum, and the former has given some $11,000. This 
Church has been the largest contributor to the General Associa- 
tion, and may be called the mother of the Southern Baptist 
Convention, whose first anniversary was held in this building, 
and every officer of its Board of Foreign Missions, except 
three, has been given by this Church. 

Third period, 1846 to 1880. The Mite Box Committee of 
the Woman's Missionary Society of Richmond has raised 
$1,300, and the Society itself has given over $5,000, the Young 
Men's Missionary Society has given over $4,000, the Young 
Ladies' Missionary Society contributes $500 a year, the Dorcas 
Society is one of the most efficient Missionary Societies of the 
Church, the Girls' Aid Society is just organized and has raised 
$17, the infant class of the Sunday-school has given in ten 
years some $500. 

Summary : The Church gives $3,200 per annum to missions. 
Since 181 3 it has given over $60,000. At the close of the next 
centenary may it be said of her : " She hath done what she could." 

The venerated Dr. Robert Ryland of Kentucky, for twenty 
years pastor of the First (Colored) Baptist Church, read a 
paper of great clearness and strength, tracing its organization 
and history, which we propose to publish in full, and, there- 
fore, will not anticipate. 

Rev. B. Manly, D. D., Professor in the Southern Baptist 
Theological Seminary, then delivered an appropriate and 
pathetic address, recalling reminiscences of his pastorate, and 
urging enlarged and liberal education and Christian conse- 
cration. He was followed by Dr. E. W. Warren, of Georgia, 
pastor three and a half years, from 1875 to l %79> whose ad- 
dress of fraternal greeting was in the happiest vein. He 
congratulated the Church on the auspicious occasion, the pre- 
sence of so many former pastors, etc. Rev. Henry McDonald, 
D. D., of the Second Church, concluded the session with a 
fraternal address, full of generous, cordial feeling for the Old 
Mother Church. 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 



33 



At night, Rev. T. T. Eaton, of Petersburg, delivered an able 
discourse on the necessity of worthy "ideals" based on the text, 
" Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father in heaven is per- 
fect." The Rev. Thomas Hume, Jr., once a pupil in the Sunday- 
school, Rev. W. Harrison Williams, of Charlottesville, con- 
verted and baptized in the Church, Rev. J. William Jones, D.D., 
and the Pastor closed the pleasant exercises with addresses of 
affectionate greeting and farewell, which we regret our space 
does not allow us to allude to more particularly. Individuals 
and societies may well pause at long intervals, to review the past 
and look forward, to the future. Thus gratitude is awakened, 
errors avoided, hope enkindled, and progress quickened. 

The various papers read, with a full description of the cele- 
bration, will probably be published, we understand, in a per- 
manent form. 

Verily "the little one has become a thousand, and a small 
one a strong nation." May the church membership discard 
all promptings to pride, derive new inspiration and energy 
from her thrilling history, "wait on the Lord, renew their 
strength, mount up with wings as eagles, run and not be weary, 
walk and not faint." 

The frontispiece of this volume suggests the 
propriety of giving some more minute descrip- 
tion of the building where these Centennial 
services occurred, and of the unusually inter- 
esting dedication of it, than will be found in 
any of the papers to follow. Two days after 
the celebration, on the eleventh of June, an old 
communication of 1841 was reprinted in the 
Commonwealth of this city, which meets pre- 
cisely the demand, and is a document too valu- 
able not to have here a permanent record : 
4 



34 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

The readers of The Commonwealth, who have, doubtless, 
been deeply interested in the ceremonies which have just oc- 
curred at the Centennial celebration of the First Baptist 
Church of this city, will no doubt read with pleasure a co- 
temporaneous account of the dedication of the said Church. 
The account is extracted from the Richmond Compiler of Oc- 
tober 19, 1841, and is from the pen of the then editor and pro- 
prietor of that paper, James A. Cowardin, Esq., at present of 
the Richmond Dispatch : 

Among the most interesting events that has occurred in our 
city for a long time, may be classed the dedication of the 
magnificent Church just erected, through the munificence of 
the congregation of the First Baptist Church (of which the 
Rev. J B. Jeter is pastor) upon Twelfth Street, near the Pow- 
hatan House. This pleasing occasion took place last Sunday 
(October 17, 1841), and attracted one of the largest audiences 
ever congregated in our city. 

The building is of the Doric order, and in all its parts so 
strictly consonant that it strikes the beholder with admiration. 
The architect is Mr. Thos. U. Walter, of Philadelphia, who 
has also furnished the plan for another religious edifice that is 
to be a superb ornament to our city, viz., the Second Baptist 
Church. Mr. Walter is the architect of the far-famed Girard 
College, and this fact will be a guarantee for the truth of the 
encomium we pass upon the evidences he has given us here of 
his taste and architectural knowledge. The Church just dedi- 
cated is calculated to hold twelve hundred people seated com- 
fortably, but with a little crowding will store away two thou- 
sand. 

The interior is exceedingly chaste. The colors are white 
and blue, the white predominating — the pew cushions being 
blue. The walls are a glassy snow-white, and the mouldings 
and central ornament of the ceiling are both simple and ele- 
gant. The pitch of the ceiling is the very best in accordance 
with the general symmetry of the interior, and in its adapta- 
tion to sound ; a whisper from the pulpit can be heard to the 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 35 

extremes of the Church. The galleries are so pitched and 
graded that the portion of the audience seated in them seems 
to be brought more effectually within the range of the preach- 
er's address than usual. In most churches, owing to the 
height or some other cause, the gallery audience seems not to 
be so much a part of the audience — i. e., upon whom does not 
devolve, in so great a degree as upon those below, the respon- 
sibilities of order and attention to the church services ; they 
are more like "lookers-on in Vienna," and keep up sometimes 
a little chit-chat and titter among themselves on their own 
hook ; but in this new Church this responsibility is felt, and 
the discourse of the preacher is shared alike by the audience 
above and below. This is decidedly an improvement. 

The altar is very neat, and the sacred desk is one of the most 
unique inventions for the purpose we have ever seen. It is 
simply a desk, raised to a convenient height, and about four 
or five feet wide, white, with a damask cushion for the Bible 
to rest upon. It struck us that we had never seen a desk so 
well adapted to give the best effect to church oratory. It rests 
upon a broad, carpeted platform that is ascended by a flight of 
steps at either end. On the right and left of it, and a little in 
the rear, so as to form a triangle, are two massive Doric pil- 
lars, painted white, that give a fine effect. A recess extends 
back of these columns, the wall of which is ornamented with a 
large square of blue damask quilled, with a bright star in 
the centre. In this recess beneath the floor, which is movable, 
is the baptismal font, where the baptizing will take place in 
presence of the congregation. This is an invention that will 
be productive of great convenience, and by which the expo- 
sure and disadvantages attending the ceremony which is per- 
formed at a distant water-course will be happily avoided. There 
is a suite of rooms below, which comprise a large and well-ar- 
ranged Sunday-school and lecture-room, a study for the pastor, 
and dressing-rooms, to be used on baptismal occasions. 

The exterior is of plain stucco, and the building is ornament- 
ed with a heavy-looking steeple of moderate height, to which 



36 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

some have objected, but which, nevertheless, appears to 
be in perfect keeping with the general style of the building. 
The front has a recess portico, graced by two immense fluted 
Doric columns, and is reached by a broad flight of granite 
steps. It has truly an imposing appearance. So much for 
this noble building, at once an ornament to the city, and an 
honor to the congregation that built it. 

The exercises of the dedication were opened with the an- 
them, "Before Jehovah's Awful Throne," by an excellent 
choir, aided with instrumental music. Then a portion of 
Scripture was read, after which the following hymn, by Dodd- 
ridge, was sung by the congregation, to Old Hundred, that 
most inspiring old sacred air, which is always welcome to the 
ear : 

And will the great, eternal God, 

On earth establish his abode ? 

And will he, from his radiant throne, 

Avow our temples for his own ? 

These walls we to thine honor raise. 
Long may they echo to thy praise. 
And thou, descending, fill the place 
With choicest tokens of thy grace. 

Here let the great Redeemer reign 
With all the graces of his train, 
While power divine his word attends, 
To conquer foes and cherish friends. 

And on the great decisive day, 
When God the nations shall survey, 
May it before the world appear 
That crowds were born to glory here. 

The Rev. George B. Ide, of Philadelphia, then offered up to 
the Throne of Grace a most appropriate prayer, which was 
succeeded by the anthem, by the choir, " Be joyful in God, all 
ye lands." 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 37 

Rev. Mr. Ide then delivered the dedicatory sermon — his 
text, " Blessed are they that dwell in thy house " — lxxxiv. 
Psalm, 4th verse. 

Of this sermon we may with truth say that it was happy in 
its style and peculiarly so in its adaptation to the occasion. 
It was remarkable for its solid ability, as well as its sublime 
passages, its bold and striking similes, and the forcible lan- 
guage in which it was conveyed. We thought there was some- 
thing decidedly Websterian in the latter feature of the sermon. 

The reverend gentleman entered at large into the influences 
of the sanctuary upon society in all its ramifications — intel- 
lectual, political, social, and moral. The attention of the 
audience enchained throughout, was, perhaps, deepest with 
regard to the discussion of the influence of religion upon the 
body politic; its agency in enlightening public judgment, the 
necessity of a correct public sentiment to the maintenance 
and enforcement of just laws, and the impotency of laws, how- 
ever wise, not so sustained. The politician might have learned 
from this part of the sermon the value to set upon the salutary 
influences of religion ; how necessary they are to give efficiency 
to his measures for the preservation of peace and order, and 
the maintenance of a just equilibrium between the different 
powers of our free and happy Government, and how a corrupt 
public sentiment and depraved and vicious passions, unre- 
strained by the precepts of virtue, and unchecked by the en- 
lightened view of the duty of man to his Maker and his 
fellow, imparted by true religion, would break down all the 
restraints of order, peace, and justice, and whelm the land 
with the greatest curses that can be visited upon a nation. 

An intensely interesting portion of the sermon to the mem- 
bers, was the picture, we may call it, drawn of the happiness, 
the consolations, social enjoyments and endearments, and the 
refreshing and soul-purifying effects of the sanctuary, where 
men come up in the light of the holy effluence, to meet one 
another in a capacity from which the cares and vexations of 
life are shut out, and where the feelings and thoughts are ele- 



38 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

vated above this scene of life to higher objects — where man 
looks on himself as a spiritual being — the heir of eternity — 
and has his soul ennobled, enlarged, and enlightened, drawn 
away from the contentions of this fleeting existence of a few 
years, to the contemplation of the higher destiny in that better 
country, for which man is fitted and which he may secure if 
he will. 

After such a picture, the heart was filled with deep emotions 
at the presentation of its opposite, of the desolation that must 
prevail where there is no sanctuary, and where the inspiring 
peals of the church-going bells are never heard. 

The reverend gentleman concluded with a touching appeal 
to the unreligious part of his audience. He threw into this 
the bright fire of feeling, and disdaining the restraints of writ- 
ten words, uttered a thrilling peroration, which must have 
made a deep impression. His concluding words were an ex- 
hortation to be prepared for the long account and escape that 
bitter taunt, "Ye knew your duty, but ye did it not." 

Rev. Mr. Jeter offered up a feeling prayer, and the cere- 
monies were closed with another anthem and the benediction. 

Thus ended the dedication services of this fine church. 
Long may its works survive the mutation of time, and when 
time shall be no more — 

'' May it before the world appear 

That crowds were born to glory there.'' 

The next communication explains itself, and 

the connection of the writer with this memorial 

volume: 

First Baptist Church, 

Richmond, Va., June 28, 1880. 
To H. A. Tupper, D. D., 1002 Capitol Street, City. 

Dear Sir : At the regular business-meeting of the Church, 
held this evening, the following resolution offered by Mr. R. 
H. Bosher was adopted : 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 39 

Resolved, That Rev. H. A. Tupper, D. D., be requested to 
collect, arrange, and edit the papers read, and the addresses 
delivered, at our Centennial Anniversary : and, that he be 
authorized to have the same published. 

[ Copied from the Minutes?^ 

D. 0. Davis, Church Clerk. 

Acquiescing in the above request of his 
Church, which has a right to every service that 
he can properly render to it, the undersigned, 
having given a sketch of the occasion which 
called forth the papers, now presents the papers 
themselves, in the order in which they were 
delivered, and in as near their original forms as 
is consistent with the arrangement and object 
of the work. He has inserted the paper on the 
" Franklin House," to which reference has been 
made; and appended " Supplementary Statistics 
and Statements,' , which seemed important to 
complete the historic view of the Church. 

The book is commended to the Church, the 
Christian public, and the grace of God. Should 
it prove helpful to the Church in perpetuating 
the impulse received at the Celebration to a 
grander future ; or, in stimulating other churches, 
or a single soul, to a higher and broader Chris- 
tian life, the preparation of the volume for pub- 
lication will receive a superabundant reward. 
Richmond, Va., July 26th, 1880. H. A. TuPPER. 



II. 

DISCOURSES, 
SKETCHES AND ADDRESSES 



HISTORY OF THE CHURCH, 

BY J. L. BURROWS. 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 



45 



HISTORICAL DISCOURSE. 

1780-1880. 



A BRIEF general view of the condition of 
Virginia and Richmond in i 780 will be 
helpful in apprehending the circumstances under 
which this First Baptist Church was organized. 
In population, political influence, and com- 
mercial enterprise, Virginia was the foremost 
Colony of the thirteen. Yet this most populous 
of the States had only about five-hundred 
thousand inhabitants, of whom one-half were 
blacks, although its territory extended west- 
ward and northwestward to the Pacific Ocean 
and to the great lakes. A few of the landed 
proprietors had comfortable, some of them 
elegant, residences, the brick, flooring, and fur- 
niture of which were imported from England. 
The homes of the farmers and laborers were 
5 



46 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

structures of logs, sometimes hewn, oftener in 
their primitive rough-roundness, the intervals 
between the logs chinked with loose rock, and 
daubed with mortar, with huge stone chimneys 
and pine log fires. The floors were often laid 
with hewn puncheons or formed of the original 
soil, leveled or rammed. The kitchens were 
separate structures, out in the yard. 

The full dress of gentlemen included satin 
short trousers, fastened at the knee, long silk 
stockings, low quarter shoes with silver buckles ; 
and on the streets, fair top boots, bag wigs, 
terminating behind in a ribbon-bound queue, 
and cocked hats. 

The agricultural implements were of the 
rudest kind. The " bull tongue plough," with 
wooden mould-board, sometimes sheathed with 
sheet iron, and sometimes with a short wrought 
iron coulter, was the best until Thomas Jeffer- 
son, ten years later, and after several years of 
study and experiment, invented one more 
serviceable. The grain crops were sown broad- 
cast, reaped with sickles or scythes, threshed 
with flails or by the trampling feet of oxen, 
winnowed by flapping a blanket to raise a breeze 
against the uptossed grain to drive off the chaff. 
Three men could reap, bind, and shock an acre 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 47 

of wheat a day, and by extra hard work an acre 
and a half. Lumber was sawn in pits by two 
men, the despotic " boss sawer" mounted on the 
log jerking the long saw up, which his subordi- 
nate beneath jerked down again. Cotton and 
wool were raised in small quantities for domestic 
use, carded by hand, spun on treadle wheels, 
woven on hand looms, dyed in butternut or oak" 
bark, cut out and made up by the women of the 
household. 

Travelers rode on horseback, a few in car- 
riages, and a few in stag"e coaches on the main 
routes. The swift couriers that bore the news 
of Corn wallis' surrender, in 1 781, from Yorktown 
to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia, 
made the journey in the unprecedented time of 
five days (Oct. 19th to 23d,) and in thirty-seven 
days (Oct. 19th to Nov. 25th,) the news reached 
England by the way of France. 

The manufactories of Virginia were black- 
smiths' shops, and, at wide distances, grist and 
saw mills, with slowly revolving overshot 
wheels, on some of the upland streams. 

The year 1780 was one of the gloomiest years 
of the Revolutionary War. Washington in New 
Jersey was holding back the British forces 
concentrated in New York City. Arnold's 



48 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

treason had created consternation and doubt 
in the hearts of the people. The British and 
Tory forces under Cornwallis had overrun 
Georgia and South Carolina, and were now in 
North Carolina burning, plundering, massa- 
cring the people, and confiscating their pro- 
perty; and though temporarily checked at 
King's Mountain, Oct. 6th, and harassed by 
the onslaughts of Marion, Sumter, Pickens, 
and Harry Lee, they were driving Generals 
Green and Gates before them, and steadily ad^ 
vancing into Virginia. Recruits for the army 
were raised with difficulty; provisions and cloth- 
ing for the army, in scanty supplies, could only 
by most strenuous measures be collected or for- 
warded; and the Continental money was of 
even less value than Confederate money in 1865. 
Among the Acts passed by the Legislature in 
that year, was one calling out twenty-five 
hundred militia men, to aid in repelling Corn- 
wallis' army, marching toward Virginia. The 
number was portioned among the several 
counties, of which Henrico County was required 
to furnish eighty three, Hanover one hundred 
and thirty-five, and Bedford two hundred and 
two ; indicating the relative population of the 
several counties. An Act, too, was passed for 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRS 7 CENTENARY. 49 

supplying clothing, in which each county was 
assessed for a certain number of suits, one pair 
of overalls, two pairs of stockings, one pair of 
shoes, one wool, fur, or felt hat or leather cap. 
Each county was required to furnish a definite 
number of these suits — thus, Henrico, fifty-five; 
Caroline, ninety-three ; Amelia, one hundred 
and twelve. They were to be collected by 
distress warrants as taxes. As the women 
had to spin, weave, dye, and make them up in 
their homes, they must have had a busy time 
in that year. Each district was assessed, also, 
one beef, three hundred pounds, net weight, 
one wagon and four horses with a driver. 
Provisions seized by commissioners for the 
army were to be paid for at the following rates : 
Wheat, $66% P er bushel ; corn, $20 ; peas, $30 ; 
oats, $15 ; pickled beef, $8 per pound; bacon 
$20 per pound; salt pork, $12; brandy, $60 
per gallon ; whiskey, $40 ; West India rum, $80 ; 
white biscuit, $300 per hundred weight; ship 
bread, $200 ; fine flour, $200 ; seconds, or ship 
stuff, $150 per hundred weight. Some of us, 
remember prices comparing well with these in 
1864. 

In 1 780, Acts were passed dividing Kentucky 
County into three counties, viz. Jefferson, Fay- 

5* 



5o 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 



ette, and Lincoln, which comprised what is now 
the whole State of Kentucky; and for establish- 
ing the town of Louisville at the Falls of the 
Ohio, on one thousand acres of land, forfeited 
property of one John Connolly, and providing 
that $30 per acre, if the land sold for so much, 
should be paid into the Treasury of this Com- 
monwealth. In 1780, the grounds for the pub- 
lic square, upon which to erect the Capitol and 
Governor's house, were set apart on Shockoe 
Hill, and streets ordered to be opened, "whe- 
ther straight or curved," for <; communicating 
with the streets above the brow and below the 
foot of each hill." 

The most important Act of the Assembly in 
1780 was one authorizing Dissenting Ministers 
to celebrate the rites of marriage, and declaring 
all previous marriages by them legal and valid, 
and allowing them a fee of "twenty-five pounds 
of tobacco, and no more," for each marriage- 
ceremony. The battle for religious liberty had 
been fought, and this was the almost final sur- 
render of the State-forces to the warriors for 
soul-freedom. Joshua Morris could now receive 
and bless the wedding vows of members of his 
congregation, without liability to legal penalties, 
in the first year of his pastorate of this Church. 



CELEB R A TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 5 I 

In 1780, the only preacher regularly officia- 
ting in Richmond, of whom I can find any trace, 
was Joshua Morris. This was the only organ- 
ized Church in the town, if we except the Parish 
Church of St. John, which was without any resi- 
dent rector, and had service only at long inter- 
vals. The small rear section of the present 
building on Church Hill was the only church- 
edifice in the village. Five years later (in 
1785) the first meeting of the Episcopal parish- 
ioners was held, and a vestry appointed for St. 
John's Church, who elected Rev. John Buchanon 
rector. That he very seldom officiated in the 
Church is clearly indicated in the following ex- 
tract from a letter written by Mrs. Colonel Ed- 
ward Carrington to a friend in London, in the 
year 1792, as quoted in Bishop Meade's "Old 
Churches," etc.: 

"We have not left in our extensive State three churches 
that are decently supported. Our metropolis even would be 
left destitute of this blessing, but for the kind offices of our 
friend Buchanon, whom you remember well as an inmate of 
our family. He, from sheer benevolence, continues to preach 
in our Capitol to what we now call the New School — that is to 
say, a set of modern philosophers, who merely attend because 
they know not what else to do with themselves. But blessed 
be God, in spite of the enlightened, as they call themselves, 
and in spite of Godwin, Paine, and others, we still, at limes, 
and particularly on our great church-days, repair with a choice 



52 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

few, to our old Church on the hill (St. John's) and by contri- 
buting our mite, endeavor to preserve the religion of our 
fathers. Delightful hours we sometimes pass there," 

In 1780, as we learn from Tucker's Life of 
Jefferson, Richmond was but a village contain- 
ing scarcely eighteen hundred inhabitants, half 
of whom were slaves. It had been designated 
the seat of government only the year before, 
1779, after a lively competition with Hanover- 
town — the question being decided by a majority 
of one. 

An Act of the General Assembly, in 1780, 
provided for laying out the streets of the town, 
connecting, by passable roads up the steep 
hills, what is now Main Street with Broad 
Street, setting apart the rugged grounds upon 
which the Capitol now stands, for the govern- 
ment buildings. The General Assembly met 
in a large one-story, wooden structure, at the 
foot of Council Chamber Hill. Mordecai says : 
" On Fourteenth, or Pearl Street, below Ex- 
change Alley, where Mr. Fry has erected some 
fine stores" (page 53). Howe says: "The old 
Capitol, which was private property, stood on 
the site which is now occupied by the Custom 
House and some of the adjacent buildings" 
(page 305). Perhaps, as he wrote in 1845, ne 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 53 

refers to an older Custom House, before the 
present edifice was built. Antiquarians must 
decide. 

Mrs. Colonel Carrington thus humorously 
limns a picture of the village about this time: 

" It is, indeed, a lovely situation, and may at some fu- 
ture period be a great city ; but at present it will afford scarce 
one comfort of life. With the exception of two or three 
families, this little town is made up of Scotch factors, who 
inhabit small tenements here and there, from the river 
to the hill, some of which looking — as Colonel Marshall 
(afterwards Judge Marshall) observes — as if the poor Caledo- 
nians had brought their houses over on their backs, the weaker 
of whom were glad to stop at the bottom of the hill ; others, a 
little stronger, proceeded higher ; while a few of the stoutest 
and boldest ^ reached the summit, which, once accomplished, 
affords a situation beautiful and picturesque. One of these 
hardy Scots has thought proper to vacate his little dwelling on 
the hill ; and, though our whole family can scarcely stand up 
all together in it, my father has determined to rent it as the 
only decent tenement on the hill." — Meade, vol. 1, p. 140. 

It is to be regretted that the earliest Record 
Book of the Church has been lost. If intelli- 
gently kept, it enrolled the names of the four- 
teen disciples who entered into the organization. 
We might trace the influence of their piety upon 
their descendants, some of whom, it may be, 
are still living among us. They were probably 
in humble positions in society, little known be- 
yond their own circle. The names of multitudes 



54 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

of saints— godly and useful — are nowhere re- 
corded save in the "Lamb's Book of Life." 
But they sowed a few seeds, from which suc- 
cessive and ever-increasing harvests have 
sprung. They put a little leaven in the mass, 
which has been working for a hundred years. 
Who can foretell what grand results may flow 
from little causes ? 

We know one name, at least, of the fourteen, 
Mr. Franklin, of Union Hill. He or his wife — 
perhaps both — were probably constituent mem- 
bers, as the earliest meetings were held at their 
house. Researches now going on may discover 
others of "the fourteen." 

From the lost Record Book we should 
probably have learned, too, what ministers were 
present to recognize and give fellowship to the 
new Church. The organization of a Church in 
the chief town of the State must have been 
regarded with deep interest by those zealous 
and laborious preachers who were willing to 
endure severe persecutions for the advancement 
of the kingdom of Christ. And in those days 
of traveling ministers, when many of them almost 
lived on horseback, it is highly probable that 
some were here. It may help us to gain some 
just idea of the character of the men, and of 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 55 

the condition of the churches in the Colony, if 
we conjecture who among the neighboring and 
accessible ministers might have been invited to 
the Council of constitution. 

The nearest resident Pastor, in 1880, was 
William Webber, of Dover Church, Goochland 
County, eighteen miles north of the city. He 
was one of the heroes who preached Christ's 
gospel so effectively from the windows of 
Chesterfield and Middlesex jails. He was a 
wise and godly man, a leader among those who 
planned and labored to secure freedom of 
conscience in this State. He was afterward 
Chairman of the Committee of Correspondence, 
and for fourteen years Moderator of the Dover 
Association. 

His nearest neighbor was Pastor of the 
Goochland Church, twenty two miles from the 
city, the venerable Reuben Ford, converted 
under the preaching of George Whitefield, the 
founder and apostle of the Goochland County 
churches, a prudent, dignified, and laborious 
servant of Christ, prominent in the counsels of 
the denomination, in the conflicts for religious 
liberty, and a very respectable writer. 

In Hanover County lived John Clay — the 
father of Henry Clay — and then Pastor of 



56 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

Chickahominy Church, a plain, but sincere and 
devout man of God. 

There were at that time several traveling- 
evangelists, who were holding meetings and 
organizing churches throughout this region. 
Among them, Elijah Baker, through whose 
labors five of the churches in the Peninsula 
between James and York Rivers were gathered, 
and seven of the churches on the Eastern 
Shore ; for which services he was rewarded by 
imprisonment in Accomac jail, and forcibly 
carried into a vessel to be transported from 
thecountry ; and Joseph Anthony, often asso- 
ciatedwith Baker in evangelistic work, and 
who gave some emphatic testimony, and gained 
some precious experiences, in Chesterfield 
jail. Either of these might have been pre- 
sent. 

Another of these traveling evangelists then 
in the vicinity was the shrewd, witty, but devoted 
and indefatigable John Leland, whose field of 
preaching, he tells us, was from Orange down 
to York," and who passed over that route from 
November, 1779, to July, 1780, and baptized 
one hundred and thirty-six converts on that 
journey. He, doubtless, passed through 
Richmond, and was within call. 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 57 

Daniel Marshall, though seventy-four years 
old in 1 780, had yet four years' quite active labor 
before him, and was ready to go wherever an 
opportunity of preaching Christ offered. He 
was one of the Connecticut converts, in the 
great revival under the preaching of Whitefield; 
started as a Missionary to the Indians on the 
Upper Susquehanna ; preached his way down 
into Virginia ; became associated with Shubael 
Steams, his brother in law, only four years dead ; 
ranged into the Carolinas and Georgia, and was 
now living just over the North Carolina line. 
The Murphy boys, now old men — and Dutton 
Lane were still bearing the fiery cross over the 
valleys and mountains, and gathering the 
consecrated clan for the battles of Jehovah. 

But to return to the more settled ministers 
of 1780; there were in the territory now occupied 
by the Dover Association, y#/bz Courtnsy,Pa.stor 
of Upper College Church in William County, 
afterward for thirty six years Pastor of this 
Church. Theoderick Noel of Upper King and 
Queen Church, an impassioned exhorter, of 
wonderful power, and who baptized, says 
Andrew Broaddus, as many converts as any 
other preacher then in Virginia. John Wright 
was Pastor of Grafton Church. He was called 
6 



58 CELEBRATION OE THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

by Semple, "a blessed man of God, faithful to 
occupy his talents, whose vineyard, though 
small, was well kept." 

John Young was Pastor of Reed's, in Caroline, 
for six months, and prisoner in Caroline jail. 
His funeral sermon John Courtney preached 
in 1817 — when he had numbered fourscore 
years, less one. 

Robert Ware, one of the prisoners of King and 
Queen jail, was now Pastor of Lower King and 
Queen Church. A man of moderate abilities, 
but of unquestioned piety and zeal. James 
Greenwood, another of these prison-graduates, 
who was dragged from his rustic pulpit to finish 
his interrupted sermon in Middlesex jail, was 
Pastor of Piscataway Church, in Essex County, 
a humble, godly, and beloved minister of Christ. 

If they desired on so interesting an occasion 
the services of the most eloquent and popular 
preacher in Virginia, they had only to send over 
the Rappahannock and call for Lewis Lunsford, 
now Pastor of Moratico, in the Northern 
Neck, who had been arrested and threatened 
with prison, and who was sorry he did not go, 
rather than allow himself to be persuaded to 
give security not to preach again in an adjoining 
county without a license from the Court, which 



CELEBRA TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 



59 



license he failed to procure. But in 1880 their 
laws could be no longer enforced. 

If they looked across the James into Chester- 
field for helps, there were Eleazer Clay, of 
Chesterfield Church, an influential and useful 
man, who lived to be ninety years old. Wm. 
Hickman, of Skinquarter Church, converted 
during the glorious revival under the walls of 
Chesterfield jail, who preached his first sermon 
in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, being commanded 
and licensed to preach by Thomas Tinsley, and 
who returned only for a brief time to Virginia, 
and was now Pastor at Skinquarter ; but who 
soon went back to his beloved Kentucky, where 
he became one of the honored Patriarchs of 
that State, who baptized five hundred converts 
at the Forks of Elkhorn, and lived to the eighty- 
fourth year of his age. 

Jeremiah Hatcher, afterward of Bedford 
County, progenitor of a long line of preachers 
— may the number never be less — was Pastor 
of Tomahawk Church in 1780. These men all 
lived within a dozen miles of Richmond. 

A little further off were David Tinsley, of 
Powhatan Church, whom his persecutors tried 
to suffocate with fumes of tobacco and red pep- 
pers in his Chesterfield dungeon. Jeremiah 



60 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

Walker, of Nottaway Church, of whom Semple 
says: "few men did more good in so short a 
time than Walker did round about Nottaway." 

James Shelburne, of Lunenburg County, of 
whom Dr. Alexander said, after hearing his 
Christian experience and becoming quite inti- 
mate with him : "When the old millwright had 
finished his narrative, I felt much more inclined 
to doubt my own call to the ministry, rather 
than that of Shelburne." 

John Weatherford, of Charlotte, whose name 
is immortalized by his bold proclamation of the 
gospel from behind the high fence which was 
erected to hide the jail window, which was his 
pulpit, from the crowds outside in Chesterfield, 
and whose most eloquent eulogy was written 
by the venerable Dr. Plummer, who knew him 
in his old age. He was a frequent delegate to 
the General Assembly, during the struggle for 
religious liberty, and was for several years 
clerk of the General Committee. 

John Williams, a man of liberal education 
for the times, a member of the General Com- 
mittee, several times a delegate to the General 
Assembly with petitions for religious liberty, 
an earnest advocate and planner for ministerial 
education, a far-seeing and progressive man, 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 6 1 

was pastor of Meherrin Church in Lunenburg 
County. 

A little farther west, in Pittsylvania, lived 
Samuel Harris, "a Paul among the- churches;" 
and so like one that he was actually elected a 
sort of Diocesan Bishop with the title Apostle 
by the misguided enthusiasm and confidence of 
the General Association. He was undoubtedly 
a man of superior ability and of great in- 
fluence. He was once, in Orange County, 
dragged by the hair from his out-door pulpit, 
tried and condemned by an Orthodox Court. 

Rene Chastaine, the influential and beloved 
Pastor of Buckingham Church for fifty-three 
years — from 1772 to 1825 — was within easy 
traveling distance. He was sent for to baptize 
the converts of the Chesterfield-jail revival. 
Under threat of prosecution, he gathered the 
converts together in an arbor, and bravely 
preached to them and a crowd of the ungodly 
in the vicinity of the prison. 

If the Richmond brethren looked over the 
field now occupied by the Goshen Association, 
there were two famous men, who never spared 
themselves when any good work was going 
forward, and who were here if they were invited 
and had not some other godly enterprise on 

6* 



62 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

hand ; for they seemed nearly ubiquitous. — 
John Waller, who, in his younger days, had 
been known as the "Devil's Adjutant" and 
" swearing Jack Waller ;" and who now as a 
minister of Christ was flashing like a brilliant 
meteor over the State, though frequently 
eclipsed, having been darkened in the dungeons 
of four different jails for one hundred and thir- 
teen days in all ; who gathered eighteen churches, 
and baptized over two thousand converts, and 
was now living in Spottsylvania County. Lewis 
Craig, who took lessons in practical theology 
in Spottsylvania and Caroline Counties' jails, 
was now also Pastor in Spottsylvania, and in 
the following year led most of the members, as 
an organized traveling church in the wilderness, 
across the Allegheny Mountains into Kentucky, 
and settled them on the Elkhorn River, where 
he died, aged eighty- seven years. Elijah Craig, 
his brother, prisoner in Culpeper and Orange 
jails, was Pastor of Blue Run in Orange. 

Ambrose Dudley was also now in Spottsylva- 
nia, but soon after removed to Kentucky, and 
whose memory is cherished there as one of the 
fathers of the Elkhorn Association, and after- 
ward, alas! of the Licking Anti-Missionary As- 
sociation. 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 63 

John Taylor lived ki Fauquier, in 1780, and 
was a sort of missionary evangelist on the 
western frontiers, and, in 1783, settled in 
Woodford County, Kentucky, where, in his old 
age, he wrote a history of the ten churches 
with which he had been connected. He was a 
wise leader in our Kentucky Zion, and preached 
from his twenty-first to his eighty-first year. 

James Garnett, for fifty-five years Pastor of 
Crooked Run, Culpeper County, where he 
preached every Lord's Day, declining all calls 
to a plurality pastorate — if his good example 
had been generally followed, we should have 
now a different state of things in our Southern 
country — could have been here at the organi- 
zation. 

John Pickett, of the Fauquier prison, and 
founder of six of the old Culpeper Association 
churches, had his home in Fauquier. 

The Fristoes, Daniel and William, of Stafford, 
soundly Calvinistic, and apostles of the Ketock- 
ton Association. 

Wm. Marshall, uncle of the Chief Justice, 
was one of the fashionable aristocracy of Fau- 
quier, and after his conversion and induction 
into the ministry, was only kept out of jail by 
the interposition of his Episcopal brother, Col. 



64 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

Thomas Marshall. During this year, 1780, he 
migrated to Kentucky, where many of his hon- 
ored descendants still live. 

Richard Major, one of the most useful and 
godly ministers of that age, was Pastor of Bull 
Run Church, in Fauquier. 

David Thomas, then Pastor of Broad Run 
Church, in Fauquier County, was perhaps the 
best educated and most intelligent of all these 
Fathers of the churches. He was in the vigor 
of manhood in 1 780, and was proclaiming the 
gospel through the northern counties and 
into the Southern Neck. He too removed to 
* Kentucky, and labored effectively for many 
years. 

James Ireland, a Scotchman, whom the fana- 
tics of the Established Church tried to smother 
with brimstone, by blowing the flame and smoke 
of sulphur into his close cell in Culpeper jail, 
and who wrote rapturous letters headed, — 
"From my Palace in Culpeper," — "a man," 
says Semple, "of considerable learning, hand- 
some style, affectionate and tender manner, 
argumentative and eloquent," — was preaching 
in the Shenandoah Valley. And so was John 
Koontz, a German, whom enraged persecution 
often beat and tried to kill, but whom the Lord 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 65 

kept alive till he was eighty years old, and then 
dismissed to his rest and reward. 

Constituted, as we have seen, in 1780, with 
fourteen members, with the pastoral ministra- 
tions of Rev. Joshua Morris, the Church gradu- 
ally, but slowly, increased in numbers, during 
the six years that followed. In 1786, Mr. Mor- 
ris, as we have noticed, removed to Kentucky. 
How soon after the organization of the Church 
Mr. Morris became resident Pastor, and how 
often he preached for them, we have now no 
means of learning. Whether it was for a while 
a monthly or semi-monthly station, as from the 
fewness of its members and their probable ina- 
bility to support a pastor, seems likely, we have 
no information. 

The first place of meeting, as already noticed, 
was on Union Hill, at a private house. After- 
ward a building was erected or procured at or 
near the North East Corner of Cary and Second 
streets. Mr. Mordecai, in his interesting remi- 
niscences, writing of Gamble's and Gallows 
Hill, near where the Penitentiary now stands, 
says: "One small wooden house, with a shed 
at either end, stood not far off, in which service 
was performed by Baptist preachers, for want 
of a better place of worship. Its locality pos- 



66 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

sessed the advantage of being near the Peni- 
tentiary pond — convenient for immersion — for 
it was then pure water." 

Afterward, Dr. P. Turpin presented to the 
Church the lot on which the First African Church 
now stands, then on a bluffoverlooking the valley 
and beyond which there was no road, the decliv- 
ity being too abrupt and steep for vehicles of any 
sort. Upon this lot a small, plain brick building 
was erected, which in 1803 and subsequently was 
enlarged by additions on three sides, making a 
cruciform edifice one hundred by seventy feet. 
It was without any pretensions to architectural 
symmetry, but capable of accommodating a large 
congregation, and within its walls God displayed 
his glory and power in the conversion of thou- 
sands of sinners, and in the edification of thou- 
sands of saints. Some to whom I am now speak- 
ing recall tender memories of the Pastors to 
whom they listened, of precious Christian friends 
and kin, with whom they were associated in 
spiritual fellowship, and of the regenerating and 
pardoning, and adopting grace of God, and of 
many conflicts in which they were aided, and 
many gracious experiences which they enjoyed, 
in connection with the assemblies that gathered 
in the rude old Church. 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 6j 

After the retirement of the first Pastor, in 
1786, Elder John Courtney was called to the 
pastorate of the Church. He was an humble, 
plain man, without the advantages of early 
education, but a godly and laborious minister 
of Christ, such a one, I fancy, as Chaucer, three 
hundred years before Courtney was born, aptly 
described: 

" A true good man there was, of religion, 
Pious and poor, the parson of the town, 
But rich he was in holy thought and work, 
And thereto a right learned man, a clerk, 
That Christ's pure gospel would sincerely preach 
And his parishioners devoutly teach." 

For several years, Courtney was the only 
resident Pastor; later, Blair and Rice, of the 
Presbyterian, and Buchanon and Bishop Moore, 
of the Episcopal Churches, settled and minis- 
tered in the City. 

The task of preparing biographical sketches 
of the Pastors and Ministers connected with the 
Church has been committed to other hands, 
and I will not, therefore, attempt any delinea- 
tion of the character and labors of these worthy 
men of God. There is a long line of them, and 
the unity and completeness of this series of 
services will be best secured by leaving such 



68 CELEB RA TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 

biographical sketches to the accomplished bro- 
ther who has, doubtless, given them as careful 
and thorough study as attainable materials 
could furnish. 

In ten years after its organization, 1 790, the 
number of members had increased to two hun- 
dred. From that date we have been able to 
trace with considerable accuracy the annual 
statistical returns. The increase has been 
steady, year by year ; no year having passed 
without some additions by baptism. In 1824, 
when eighty years of age, Elder Courtney 
closed his earthly work, and entered upon his 
heavenly rest. The Church then numbered 
eight hundred and twenty members. The 
larger proportion of these were negroes and 
slaves — "the poor of this world, rich in faith, 
and heirs of the kingdom." 

No charge more unjust was ever made than 
that the religious instruction and training of 
the poor and laboring classes was neglected by 
these early preachers of the gospel. Like their 
Lord, they could appeal for proof of the divinity 
of their call by repeating — "the poor have the 
gospel preached unto them." They were care- 
ful, too, in the examination of all applicants for 
membership, requiring satisfactory testimony 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 69 

of their conversion, and certificates of good 
character from their employers ; and after their 
admission, they were strict in watchful discipline 
over their conduct and conversation. Deacons 
of their own color were appointed to watch 
over and counsel them, and they listened every 
Lord's Day to the same instructions and ex- 
hortations as their white brethren ; and through 
the zealous teachings of these early preachers 
and their devoted successors, when the civil war 
secured freedom to the race, a larger propor- 
tion of them than of the laboring classes of any 
other part of the country, or of the world, were 
professed, regenerate disciples of Jesus Christ. 
Associated in pastoral work with Elder 
Courtney during the closing period of his life — 
for the Church would not cast him off when 
advancing years, spent in its service, weakened 
his physical powers — were Rev. "John Bryce, 
for twelve years, from 1810 to 1822; and during 
one year, 1822, the accomplished and eloquent 
Andrew Broaddus ; then for three years, from 
1822 to 1825, Rev. Henry Keeling. These 
three were men of much more than average 
ability. I leave the delineation of their charac- 
teristics and services to the abler and more 
critical pen of Dr. Thomas. 
7 



JO CELEB R A TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 

During this period, several other ministers 
were connected with the Church. Wm. Braine 
was the son of an intelligent and godly mother, 
who had been a frequent auditor of Whitefield, 
and a member of the Presbyterian Church, to 
which the famous Samuel Davies ministered, 
and afterward a member of Reed's Church, 
Caroline County. Two of her sons became 
useful ministers of Christ : Samuel, of whom 
Semple writes : " He was a great preacher, and 
bade fair to be much greater;" but he died 
young. Wm. Braine, who was a member of 
this Church, seems to have been an Evangelist, 
and his work is thus noted in the minutes of 
Dover Association of 1815: "His labors in the 
gospel as a minister and servant of the Churches 
have been more extensive than any other min- 
ister in our Association. After a lingering ill- 
ness, in 181 4, he closed his own eyes, clasped 
his hands, and raised his last prayer: ' Come, 
Lord Jesus, come quickly,' and without a sigh 
or groan passed away to a better world." 

George Williamson was an occasional preach- 
er, but engaged in secular business, being mas- 
ter armorer in the employ of the State. 

Herman Snead, for a time a member of this 
church, was also enrolled in the list of minis- 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 



71 



ters, and was an early Teacher of youth in this 
city. 

Jacob Gregg was an Englishman, a student 
in Bristol Academy, and appointed by some 
British Society Missionary to Sierra Leone on 
the coast of Africa. After a brief sojourn there, 
he sailed for America, and landed at Norfolk. 
After preaching in that vicinity a few years, he 
traveled into Kentucky and Ohio; but in 1808 
or 1809, he returned to Virginia, and settled in 
Richmond, where he opened and conducted a 
school for several years. About the year 181 7, 
he was called to the pastoral charge of the New 
Market Street (now the flourishing Fourth) 
Baptist Church of Philadelphia. Subsequently 
he returned to this State. Mr. Gregg was a 
man of great abilities, and of most amazing 
memory. It was said of him, that he had com- 
mitted to memory and could use at will the 
whole of the Old and New Testaments, and of 
Watts' Psalms. He had capacity and eloquence 
enough to place him in the front rank of the 
preachers of his day. But, unfortunately for 
his reputation and usefulness, he had acquired 
an appetite for intoxicating liquors, which he 
often tried to break with shame and tears, but 
never, save for intervals, entirely abandoned. 



72 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

There were no Temperance Societies in his 
day, and moderate drinking was indulged by 
all classes. But this miserable habit prevented 
his rilling those high positions for which he had 
capabilities. 

Of T. Hurst, whose name is on our list of 
preachers, I have been able to learn nothing. 

Peter Nelson, who for forty years was an 
honored and successful Teacher in this city, was 
a graduate of William and Mary College, 
ordained to the Priesthood in the Episcopal 
Church, in which he was a minister for twenty 
years, and after critical investigation he changed 
his views and church relations, having been 
baptized by Rev. Andrew Broaddus in 1808 or 
1 809. He died February 15, 1827, as his physi- 
cian said, " like a philosopher and a Christian." 

Four years before the death of Elder Court- 
ney, viz, in 1820, the Second Baptist Church 
was organized, seventeen of the members of this 
Church, with some others, covenanting together 
in the constitution. There was some friction 
and alienation connected with this movement — 
precisely what about we have forgotten if we 
ever knew. Conscientious Christians will differ 
about measures and minor doctrines sometimes, 
but God thwarts the Devil's schemes, and makes 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. J$ 

them subserve his own ultimate purposes. The 
Second Church was foreordained of God, has 
greatly strengthened and widened the influences 
for good in this community, and has had a most 
honorable and successful history. Rev. David 
Roper, for a time a member of this Church, who 
served them as Pastor, while occupied at the 
same time in responsible clerkships, in the 
city, lived but seven years in this relation, pass- 
ing to his eternal rest in 1827. He was succeeded 
by the faithful, laborious, and ever honored and 
beloved James B. Taylor, under whose wise 
ministration the Church steadily grew in power 
and holy influence. 

In 1824, a fresh and vigorous impulse was 
given to the interests and prosperity of the 
Church by the induction of Rev. John Kerr into 
the pastoral office. From his distant home Mr. 
Kerr traveled to Richmond, probably on horse- 
back, or by some still primitive stage coach, for 
as yet there was no passenger railroad in the 
world. The great excitement of the year in 
Richmond was the visit of La Fayette, one of 
the helpful heroes of the Revolution, a General 
at twenty years of age, now a veteran of sixty- 
seven. The old soldiers and their children 
gathered here from all parts of the State, and 

7* 



74 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

the enthusiasm of the reception was wild and 
exultant. 

The contrast between John Courtney and 
John Kerr was very marked. The one was old 
and feeble ; the other, in the vigor of a healthful 
manhood, forty-two years old. The one was 
plain and unassuming ; the other, brilliant, 
eloquent, and aggressive. The one slow, the 
other rapid, of speech. The one perseveringly 
plodding ; the other, exultantly soaring. The 
one carrying steadily an oil filled lamp ; the 
other waving a flashing flambeau. The one 
shining like a quiet star ; the other blazing like 
a refulgent sun. The one opalescent; the other 
electrical. I suppose few men have ever been 
given to the pulpit with more genuine native 
power of attractive and graceful oratory than 
John Kerr. There have, doubtless, been many, 
more logical and learned, but few who could so 
hold, sway and electrify an audience. There 
have been many who could construct and com- 
pose more systematic and finished sermons, but 
few who could produce such effects upon a 
congregation. Mr. Kerr's pastorate was the 
era of increase. During his ministry of eight 
years, more than twelve hundred converts were 
baptized and added to the membership of the 



CELEBRATION OE THE FIRST CENTENARY. 75 

Church. There were eight hundred members 
when John Courtney died, there were sixteen 
hundred and forty-four in 1832, notwithstanding 
the secession of eighty white members in the 
Campbellite controversy, which culminated in 
that year. Mr. Kerr took a decided and promi- 
nent part in the discussions which originated in 
Alexander Campbell's new expositions of gospel 
doctrines, and which, to a limited extent, divided 
the Churches in Eastern Virginia, but more 
widely and disastrously in Kentucky and the 
West. He was the writer of what are reproacht 
fully branded as " the Dover Decrees," which 
rendered necessary formal separation from the 
Reformers, as then called by themselves. 

The names of the earliest Deacons and Officers 
of the Church, and of many of its members, can 
not now be recalled ; but as we trace the exist- 
ing records, into the first third of the present 
century, up to the close of Mr. Kerr's pastorate, 
we find as Deacons: Robert Hyde, Anthony R. 
Thornton, Zachary Lewis, Charles H. Hyde, 
Onan Ellyson, and Peter Nelson. Clerks: H. 
C. Thompson, Madison Walthall, and Thomas J. 
Glenn. Treasurers : M. Walthall, A. R. Thorn- 
ton, J. P. Tyler, and Peter Winston, a devout, 
zealous, and efficient officer of the Church, who 



J 6 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

died in July, 1841. Trustees : David Roper, 
Robert McKim, and William Dabney. 

We also find the names of Joseph Starke, 
Peter Winston, F. I. Lewis, B. W. Walthall, 
James Sizer, Richard Reins, Archibald Thomas, 
James C. Crane, who, in using the office of 
Deacon well, " purchased to themselves a good 
degree and great boldness in the faith which is 
in Christ Jesus ;" " also of honorable women 
who believed and served, not a few." Names 
not to be forgotten, and for whose godly life 
and service this church owes thanks to the lov- 
ing Lord this day, are such as Miss Virginia 
Ratcliffe, Miss Polly Mauzee, Mrs. Elizabeth 
Walthall, Mrs. Jane F. Reins, Mrs. R. C. 
Wortham, Mrs. Peter Winston, Mrs. Winifred 
Crenshaw, Mrs. Gabriella Bosher, Mrs. M. T. 
Starke, Miss Emma Williams, Miss Bettie Hill- 
yard, Mrs. Mary E. Hillyard, Mrs. Catharine 
Thomas, Mrs. Elizabeth Bosher, and a long list 
of others, who loved the church and served 
their generation well. 

The names, too, of many of the earlier breth- 
ren, who, while not in official position, were yet 
prominent in the counsels of the Church, liberal 
in its support, and of good repute in the com- 
munity for integrity and piety, ought to be re- 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. J J 

membered by us in such a grateful memorial. 
I can only mention a few who were members of 
the church previous to 1835. There were such 
men as S. H. Walthall, William Bosher, Thos. 
B. Norvell, Royal Parrish, Geo. W. Atkinson, 
Wm. Tyree, Thomas and Samuel Hardgrove; 
Richard C. Wortham, Richard Turpin, Stephen 
Childrey, Jno. L. Turpin, John Watkins, Jas. H. 
Temple, Wilson B. Hill, Jesse Williams, Spots- 
wood M. Dandridge, and many others of equal 
worth, though not, perhaps, of equal promi- 
nence. Of some of these godly men, interesting 
and instructive memoirs might be written, had 
we materials and time. 

In comparing the Register of 1835, when the 
number of white members was three hundred 
and thirty-three, with the Register of 1880, 1 find 
the names of thirteen, who for the forty-five 
years and more, have lived in fellowship of the 
church. Three hundred and twenty are gone ; 
a very few may be still elsewhere living; all 
the rest are dead, and most of them, we have 
good reasons for believing, are with the Lord. 

The ministers who were connected with the 
Church during this period were Rev. John C. 
Harrison, who was for many years Pastor of 
the Bordentown Church, N. J. He was a bro 



yS CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

ther in good repute, of fair abilities, indus- 
trious and wholly given to his work, and quite 
prominent in the counsels of the denomination. 

Barnard Phillips was a very good, plain, un- 
educated brother, mostly engaged in secular 
employments, and preaching occasionally. 

Jeremiah B. Porter was an earnest, some- 
what boisterous preacher, of fair natural abili- 
ties, but with little culture. 

William Southwood was an Englishman, for 
a time a student of Cambridge University, and 
minister of two churches in England before he 
came to this country. He was an intelligent, 
conscientious man, well read, a student firm in 
his convictions, very rigid in his views of church 
discipline and of Christian character, and with 
more of force than tenderness in his ministra- 
tions. He was six years Pastor in Petersburg, 
and afterward of St. Stephen's, in King and 
Queen, where he died in 1850, in the sixty-sixth 
year of his age. 

Joseph Starke, baptized in 1831, served a few 
years as a Deacon, active and zealous ; was dis- 
missed with others to organize the New Bridge 
Church, and was there called into the ministry, 
and was an acceptable and honored Pastor of 
churches in Hanover County. 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. Jg 

Jacob Marshall (if I am not mistaken in the 
man) was a lad who was a member of the same 
Presbyterian Church with myself in Philadelphia, 
when we were both boys, he several years the 
elder. I remember hearing that he had gone 
South, united with a Baptist Church, and entered 
the ministry. He was baptized here in 1835. 
He was a young man of more than ordinary 
ability, and preached in North Carolina and 
Georgia. I have often heard favorably of his 
services, but am not able to trace his career. 

Jacob T. Tinsley was temporarily a member 
of this Church, while a student at the Baptist 
Seminary, previous to the removal of that insti- 
tution into the city and its merging into Rich- 
mond College. 

John 0. Turpin still lives, the honored and 
beloved Pastor of Sharon and Beulah Churches, 
in King William County. Robert D. Davenport, 
baptized 1831, was a printer, employed in the 
office of the " Richmond Enquirer," married 
Miss Mary Frances, daughter of Rev. David 
Roper, was set apart at the same time as Rev. 
J. L. Shuck, as Missionary and Superintendent 
of printing in Siam. He sailed with Mr. Shuck 
and party in September, 1835. At Bangkok 
he remained nine years, engaged mainly in 



80 CELEBRATION OF' THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

printing translations of the Scriptures, both in 
Siamese and Chinese. He returned in 1845, 
and died of disease contracted in the East, No- 
vember 24th, 1849, aged 39 years. He was 
more useful in his peculiar calling than in the 
active ministry. 

Joseph S. Walthall, baptized in 1831, was a 
student with Edward Baptist, then of the Bap- 
tist Seminary, and afterward graduated at Co- 
lumbian College, Washington. After his grad- 
uation he preached in Columbus, Mississippi, 
was Tutor in Richmond College, Pastor at 
Newbern, N. C, and Associate Editor of the 
" Biblical Recorder," at Raleigh. He returned 
to Virginia at the breaking out of the war, was 
in declining health for several years, yet preach- 
ing frequently and acceptably, and died in this 
city, May 20th, 1870. He was an instructive 
and studious preacher, and an earnest and 
godly disciple of Christ. 

A. Paul Repiton became an able and influen- 
tial minister of Christ, Pastor for many years in 
Wilmington, N. C. The closing years of his 
life were spent in Norfolk and vicinity, where 
he was Pastor, and where he died in the faith 
of the Lord Jesus. 

Addison Hall was temporarily a member of 



CELEB R A TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 8 I 

this Church. His name and good fame are 
associated with his efficient work as Pastor in 
Lancaster and Northumberland Counties. 

It is not yet time — and we trust the time is 
still remote — to sketch the life and services of 
Rev. Dr. Ryland, so long the laborious and 
conscientious President of Richmond College, 
and Pastor of the First African Church, and for 
many years a beloved member of this Church. 

Rev. Isaac Taylor Hinton, in 1833, became the 
successor, after having been for a few months 
the assistant, of Mr. Kerr. Mr. Hinton had 
his own peculiar gifts, which admirably fitted 
in to the needs of the Church at this juncture. 
He was especially an organizer, constant and 
untiring in his sacred work, and the great mass 
of material gathered during the ministry of Mr. 
Kerr seemed just then to require such talents 
as he possessed, and as his eloquent predeces- 
sor had not possessed. The members were 
now arranged in six districts, each under the 
oversight of a Deacon, the blacks with Deacons 
of their own color. The first register of the 
Church was prepared and printed ; various 
societies for missionary and benevolentpurposes 
were formed. It was the period of organization. 
The number of white members, in 1835, was 



82 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

three hundred and thirty-three. About one 
hundred and sixty were baptized during Mr. 
Hinton's ministry of two years. During this 
period the Third — now Grace Street — Church 
was constituted, with thirty-three members, most 
of them from the Second Church. Rev. Henry 
Keeling was largely instrumental in gathering 
these disciples, and in ministering to them while 
erecting their first humble edifice. During Mr. 
Hinton's ministry the present site of Richmond 
College was purchased, and the Virginia Baptist 
Seminary removed to occupy it. Mr. Hinton 
was prominent in these aggressive enterprises. 
In January, 1836, Rev. J. B. Jeter became 
the Pastor of the Church. It is not for me to 
speak especially of his character or life. In my 
judgment — and I have had opportunities for 
knowing him well, as I was in familiar commu- 
nication with him for twenty years, and for a 
time we lived together under the same roof — 
he was the most perfect Christian gentleman 
and minister I have ever known. Carlyle 
says : " If in any sphere of man's life, then in 
the moral sphere, as the inmost and most 
vital of all, it is good that there be 
wholeness, and that there be unconsciousness 
which is the evidence of this." Dr. Jeter was a 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. %^ 

whole man, intellectually and morally. His 
characteristics were symmetrical, rounded, har- 
monious. There was no development of capa- 
bilities and aptitudes in any one direction, at 
the cost of dwarfing and shrivelling- in any other 
directions. His was not a one-sided, nor a 
many-sided, but an ^//-sided, intellect and heart. 
In any one direction he had superiors ; but 
taking all his faculties and graces in their aggre- 
gate, and there was a completeness and union 
of character, the like of which is seldom found. 
And with this was the unconsciousness of which 
Carlyle speaks. Genius is ever a secret to 
itself. In fact, unity, agreement, is always 
silent or soft-voiced, it is only discord that loudly 
proclaims itself. So long as the several ele- 
ments of Life, all fitly adjusted, can pour forth 
their movement like harmonious tuned strings, 
it is a melody and unison. Life from its mys- 
terious fountain flows out, as in celestial music 
and diapason; like that other music of the 
spheres, "which never jars harshly upon listen- 
ing ears." He never exhibited, I do not believe 
he ever felt, any vain consciousness of his own 
abilities or attainments. Simple and unassert- 
ing as a child ; contemplative and thorough as 
a philosopher. To one other characteristic of 



84 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

Dr. Jeter, I may be pardoned for alluding". 
He never became an old man. Seventy eight 
years had not withered the freshness nor weak- 
ened the vigor of his intellectual or spiritual 
faculties. He kept growing on till he died, 
and we believe he keeps on growing still. He 
fell, not as an old oak, whose heart is decayed, 
and whose sluggish sap can transmit life only 
to a few stunted leaves; but he fell like a stately 
palm, in healthful growth, with leafage green 
and luxuriant, and with wholesome fruit-clus- 
ters in bud, and in bloom, and in ripeness, in 
all successive stages of development. 

Now the names of the older Deacons have 
disappeared from the published Register, only 
Archibald Thomas, James Sizer, and Richard 
Reins remaining ; while James C. Crane, John 
Farrar, Christopher Walthall, John Stanard, and 
Robert H. Bosher occupy the places of the de- 
parted. The labors of Dr. Jeter were blessed 
in the steady increase and edification of the 
Church. Its members were instructed, en- 
couraged to every good word and work ; the 
moral power and influence of the body over the 
community, and by benevolent liberality over 
the State and the world, was augmented. 

Dr. Jeter baptized ten hundred and seventy- 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 85 

eight converts into the fellowship of the Church 
during his pastorate of thirteen and a half years. 
Gracious and extensive revivals especially 
blessed five of these years, in each of which 
over one hundred, and in one of which — 1837 — 
two hundred and seventy-two, additions were 
received. When he entered upon his pastor- 
ship there were three hundred and thirty-three 
white members ; when he resigned there were 
five hundred and sixty-two. During his minis- 
try, from 1836 to 1849, Dr. Jeter became the 
prominent representative minister of the Bap- 
tists of Virginia, in connection with our general 
work in State and Foreign Missions, in Bible 
and Publication Societies, in Educational Insti- 
tutions. The charter for Richmond College 
was secured and the Institution organized ; and 
the edifice in which we now worship was erected. 
This building, commenced in 1839, was com- 
pleted and dedicated October, 1841, at a cost of 
about $40,000. The erection of this building 
led to the separation of the white and colored 
members and the organization of the First 
African Baptist Church, which continued to 
occupy the old structure, and which was set 
apart under the pastoral supervision of Rev. 
Dr. Ryland, then President of Richmond Col- 



86 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

lege. Seventeen hundred and eight colored 
members remained in the old house, while three 
hundred and eighty-seven white members re- 
moved to the new. During the first year a 
precious revival, in which the Pastor was aided 
by Rev. Mr. Robards of New York, added one 
hundred and sixty-seven by baptism to the 
Church in its new home. This raised the total, 
at the close of 1842, to five hundred and thirty- 
three. There were now four organized churches 
in Richmond, viz : First, Second, Third, — now 
Grace Street, — and the First African. In 1846, 
the Second African Church was constituted 
under the special superintendence of the Second 
White Church: and in the same year the Man- 
chester African Church. 

The ministers that were members of this 
Church during the period of Dr. Jeter's ministry 
who have passed from earth were : 

Duncan R. Campbell, D. D. He was born 
in Perthshire, Scotland, in 18 14, and educated 
at the University of Edinburgh. He entered 
the Presbyterian ministry, became Pastor of a 
Presbyterian Church in Scotland, and was for 
some time an Evangelist in the City of London. 
He came to this country in 1842, was baptized 
by Dr. Jeter, and became a member of this 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 8 J 

Church. A new body was organized called the 
Fourth Church, which met in the frame house 
on Franklin Street, at the corner of Twenty-first 
Street, where Mr. Campbell preached some six 
months. He was subsequently Pastor of 
Mound Bluff and Vernon Churches in Missis- 
sippi. The climate being unfavorable to his 
health, he removed to Kentucky and became 
Pastor of the Georgetown Church, then Profes- 
sor of Hebrew and Biblical Interpretation in 
the Theological Seminary at Covington, and in 
1852 was elected President of Georgetown 
College. This position he held until vacated 
by his promotion to his higher heavenly sphere. 
He was a very laborious and zealous minister 
of Christ, preaching constantly to churches in 
the vicinity of Covington and Georgetown. 
His duties in the school did not hinder his fill- 
ing every Lord's Day with more direct preach- 
ing to the people. 

The influence of his intellectual and evangel- 
istic labors still blesses the region in which he 
was best known, and for the ages to come his 
works will follow him. 

Rev. Eli Ball, who removed from New Eng- 
land to Virginia in 1823, and became Pastor of 
the Church in Lynchburg, came to Richmond 



88 CELE BRA TION OF THE FIRS T CENTENA R Y. 

about 1826, and became a member of this 
Church. He was especially an active and zeal- 
ous agent of our Missionary Boards and of 
Columbian College. He traveled through all 
the Southern states, pleading for these evangel- 
izing agencies and successfully forwarding their 
interests. In 1852, at the request of the For- 
eign Mission Board, he visited the African 
colony of Liberia, to survey and suggest mea- 
sures for the prosecution of our missions there. 
In his funeral sermon, Dr. Jeter said of him : 
" Doubtless, Eli Ball will long be remembered 
by Virginia Baptists as one of their soundest, 
best, and most useful proclaimers of the glorious 
gospel/' He died in 1853, in the seventy-sev- 
enth year of his age. 

Rev. Samuel C. Clopton was the first appointed 
Missionary of the Southern Board to China. 
He was a student of Columbian College and of 
the Newton Theological Seminary, and for a 
time a Tutor in Richmond College. In June, 
1846, with the daughter of Rev. Miles Turpin 
as his wife, he embarked for Canton, China. 
But he had only time to enter upon preparation 
for his great work. The Lord called him home 
on the 7th of July, 1847, m tne thirty-second 
year of his age. He gave bright promise of 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 89 

usefulness in his fervent piety and devout con- 
secration to Christ. But God's ways are wisest. 
His son, born in China and bearing his name, 
has taken up the sword of the Spirit that 
dropped from his dying hand. " Instead of the 
fathers shall be the children." 

William Moncure Gaskins, brother of Mrs. 
Sarah Jeter, was one of the most promising, 
talented, and pious of the young ministers of 
the Church. Hearing him in public prayer, 
one said : " That man must pray much in se- 
cret." He became the Pastor of several 
churches near Halifax Court House. 

Edward Kingsford, D. D., temporarily con- 
nected with this Church, and afterward Pastor 
of Grace Street Church, was a very intelligent 
and able preacher of the word. 

Varay S. Gaskill, baptized in 1846, and li- 
censed afterward, was sent by the Church as a 
student to Furman Institute, in South Carolina. 
I have learned nothing of his subsequent career. 

Jesse Witt, whose biography is sketched in 
Dr. Taylor's Virginia Baptist Ministers, was for 
a time in membership here, probably while 
agent of our General Association. He was a 
minister of large influence and usefulness, and 
died in Texas in 1858. 



90 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

In 1850, Rev. Basil Manly, jr., succeeded 
Dr. Jeter in the pastoral office. As he is liv- 
ing still, it is not yet time to enroll his name 
among those who have finished their course 
and won their crown. May that time be still 
remote in the future, that he may accumulate 
yet richer stores in the service of Christ's 
churches for the pen of a coming biographer. 
I may only say that he came to this pastoral 
charge, shortly after quitting the Princeton Theo- 
logical Seminary ; that by his urbanity, unos- 
tentatious piety, devotion to his work, earnest 
and able expositions and enforcements of divine 
truth, he won the confidence and the hearts of 
the people. As President of the Female Insti- 
tute of this city, he drew a larger number of 
pupils to its halls than have ever thronged 
them since, and by whom he is remembered 
with grateful and loving reverence. As Presi- 
dent of Georgetown College, and twice as Pro- 
fessor in our Southern Theological Seminary, 
he has by his administrative, practical ability 
and tact, and by his broad and accurate schol- 
arship, contributed much to the efficiency, thor- 
oughness, and prosperity of these institutions. 
Indefatigable in study and work, amiable and 
conciliatory in spirit, devoutly interested in 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 9 1 

every measure that promises good to the king- 
dom of Christ, he deserves what he has gained, 
a place in the front rank with the leaders who 
are most honored, trusted, and loved, in our 
Southern Israel. During the four years of his 
pastorate, one hundred and thirty-four were 
added by baptism to the membership of the 
Church, and the number increased from five 
hundred and forty, in 1850, to six hundred and 
thirty-seven in 1854, when a colony of over one 
hundred was dismissed, to organize the Leigh 
Street Church, on Church Hill. 

Rev. Reuben Ford — the son of him who bore 
the same name, and was of illustrious fame 
among the early champions of religious liberty — 
was among those thus dismissed, and became the 
first Pastor of the Leigh Street Church. He 
was a godly, earnest minister of Christ, and 
closed his earthly ministry as Pastor in Nash- 
ville, Tennessee. 

In October, 1854, having been honored with 
an invitation from the Church, I was received as 
its Pastor. The number of members, diminished 
just previous to my coming by the constitution 
of the Leigh Street Church, was five hundred 
and eighty-four. For twenty years and three 
months this relation to you was continued. I 



92 CELEBRA TION OF THE FIRS T CENTENA R Y. 

have many reasons for profound gratitude and 
praise to God for the blessings bestowed upon 
me during this period of my life. I never re- 
ceived from the Church anything but uniform 
kindness and hearty co-operation in every good 
work. As far as was possible with so numer- 
ous a society, I deemed myself the personal 
friend of every member, and regarded every 
member as a personal friend to me. We had 
no wranglings, no discords, no perturbed or 
boisterous church meetings. Nothing ever 
seriously disturbed the peaceful harmony of the 
Church. The unity and brotherly confidence 
and regard were as nearly perfect as I have 
ever known. 

The increase of the membership required an 
enlargement of the board of deacons, and about 
the year 1858, Dr. Wm. H. Gwathmey was 
elected and ordained as Deacon, and a few 
years later brethren A. P. Fox, Wm. G. Dand- 
ridge, J. B. Watkins and Geo. J. Sumner, were 
added to the number. 

For a portion of the time we were drawn 
into closer fellowship with each other by the 
terrible pressure of the war from without. Our 
sons and brothers were in daily, deadly peril ; 
and at many a funeral and over many a death 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 93 

where no home burial was possible, we mingled 
our tears and prayers together. We shared 
with each other our scant rations, and bore to- 
gether the fearful privations of a besieged city, 
and the crushing disappointments and terrible 
losses and horrors of the closing scenes. I re- 
member well when a brother whose face is now 
before me came into my study and presented 
me, as a token of the remembrance and con- 
sideration of the brethren from whom he had 
gathered it, unsolicited and unexpected by me, 
ten thousand dollars. True it was Confederate 
money, but it was the only kind you had. 
Similar evidences of thoughtful kindness, in all 
conceivable forms I received from many. For 
twenty years I never had any reason to imagine 
that I had made a personal enemy in this 
Church, or in this city outside the Church. 
And I am sure that no one ever evoked enmity 
or bitterness from my heart toward him. Par- 
don me for these allusions, but they are so 
grateful to me to recall to-day, and I should do 
violence to my own nature if I did not testify 
to the Christian magnanimity and delicate con- 
sideration, — far beyond my own deservings I 
know, — with which I was treated by this dear 
Church through twenty years of service. And 
9 



94 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

I shall not be accused of vanity if I say that all 
the powers and capabilities God gave me were 
constantly and industriously devoted to the 
service of this Church and to the cause of its 
Lord and my Lord. Mistakes and errors, oh, 
yes ! there were many ; weakness and misjudg- 
ments ; sometimes impatience and dogmatism ; 
in preaching, often more exacting than tender, 
sometimes more legal flash than gospel magnet; 
but with all I can, upon review, honestly say 
there was an absorbing longing for the growth, 
efficiency, and spirituality of the Church, and 
for the conversion of souls to Christ Jesus. 

During this period, the Church was twice 
enlarged, the last time to provide the recess 
for the choir and organ ; the adjoining Infant 
Class room was built; the Lecture and Sunday 
School rooms were remodeled, and various 
alterations and refurnishings were made. 

At the beginning of those twenty years, there 
was peace and large prosperity; then, war and 
disaster ; and at the close, comparative pov- 
erty, perplexities, disappointments, and misgiv- 
ings. It was a period crowded with changes 
in the world, in our country, in our State, City, 
Church, in our families, and in ourselves. For 
me personally it opened with a pleasant home, 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 95 

a loving wife, and little children. It closed upon 
a homeless, lonely man, with family dead or 
scattered. In every twenty years are revolu- 
tions. Twenty years bear us from Spring time, 
with its fresh enjoyments and buoyant hopes, 
through Summer, with its toils and heats, into 
Autumn, with its matured fruits and falling 
leaves, toward Winter, with its frosts and fires, 
its decays and comforts. 

Well ! Spring has its cheer, Summer its cares, 
Autumn its chastening, and Winter its consola- 
tions. December is not much longer than June. 
And then, for trustful disciples of Jesus, the 
merging of Winter into the perennial Spring 
of God's Paradise! 

When I became Pastor, in October, 1854, 
there were enrolled upon the Register five hun- 
dred and seventy-eight members. Of that num- 
ber only one hundred and ninety-one remained 
at the close of the twenty years. Three hundred 
and eighty-seven had gone, through death, re- 
moval, or discipline. A considerable number 
united with the new churches organized during 
this period, viz. Leigh Street, 1854; Pine Street, 
1855; Manchester, 1857. Also, Sidney and Ful- 
ton, where this Church sustained out stations and 
erected buildings, and Venable Street Church. 



96 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

The Church was blessed with numerous re- 
vivals during these twenty years, and with 
steady healthful increase. The average annual 
additions were seventy-four. The whole num- 
ber of additions, fourteen hundred and seventy- 
nine. Of these, nine hundred and seventeen 
were converts baptized ; four hundred and 
seventy-seven were introduced upon certificates 
from other churches ; seventy, upon relation 
of experience; and fifteen were restored upon 
profession of penitence after exclusion. The 
whole number of diminutions during the twenty 
years, by removal, discipline, and death, was 
eleven hundred and twenty-nine. The net in- 
crease, three hundred and fifty; and the total 
in 1874, eight hundred and ninety. 

The roll of the dead for the twenty years 
contains two hundred and seventy-seven names; 
enough in numbers, character, piety, and wealth 
to have formed a strong and effective Church. 
Of useful ministers united with the Church, we 
followed to their burial the youthful Z. Jeter, 
George and Wm. M. Gaskins, and the aged 
Henry Keeling and Henry W. Watkins. Out of 
the eight Deacons, who were serving the Church 
in 1854, five were borne to the cemetery, and 
their spirits to heaven. The call of their names 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY, gj 

will awaken a thrill of precious memories in 
many hearts. Jas. C. Crane, John Farrar, 
Archibald Thomas, James Sizer, Richard Reins. 
Taking them altogether, we shall not soon look 
upon their like again. Two of the clerks of 
the Church dropped their pens, and read the 
record of their own enrolment in the unfading 
book of remembrance : David R. Crane and 
John H. McCarthy. 

Of men in business and professional life, 
some of whom left a broad mark for good upon 
their generation and upon the Church, whose 
lives won respect, and confidence in their reli- 
gion, and who being dead yet speak, were 
Richard C. Wortham, James C. Spotts, Royal 
Parrish, Charles Wortham, Geo. W. Atkinson, 
James H. Walthall, William Caulfield, John 
Watkins, John L. Smither, Josiah Dabbs, John 
Hillyard, Thomas Trowers, Dr. Leon Gelbardt, 
who gave his life in ministering to yellow fever 
victims in Norfolk, Dr. Owen B. Hill, Samuel 
and Thomas Hardgrove, William and Sidney 
Powers, Wilson B. Hill, Daniel Ward, John L. 
Ligon, John Turpin, William L. Harrison, Ju- 
lius A. Hobson, Frederick Butler, Thaddeus 
B. Starke, Thomas W. Keesee, Samuel Tyack, 
Thomas Leftwich, Dr. Albert G. Wortham. 



98 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

Of worthy, pious and promising young men, 
we may well record in such a historical sketch 
the names of Alphonzo Dandridge whose fune- 
ral was the first I attended in this city — Frank- 
lin Caster, John W. Potts, James E. Burnett, 
James W. Whitlock, and Thomas H. Butler. 

Of our young members killed during the 
war, or who died of wounds or diseases in hos- 
pitals and prisons, put upon the record this 
list: Peyton G. Read, Robert C. Stanard, Henry 
Cundiffe, John H. Herring, Custis Chamber- 
lay ne, George M. Leftwich, — these two last 
students of Richmond College, and preparing 
for the ministry, — Washington Tyler, John B. 
Kate, George W. Smither, Howard K. Cary, 
Thomas C. Redmond, also a student of the 
College, William Frayser, Lewis C. Hendricks, 
Howard S. Wright, John Rogers, Christopher 
S. Chandler, Thomas S. Hudgens, William J. 
Wheeler, Columbus A. Daniels, Francis W. 
Savage, J. T. Iage. 

Of aged women, mothers in Israel, and mid- 
dle-aged women, whose useful lives adorned 
beautifully their Christian profession, and who, 
in the home and in the Church, were honored 
and beloved, what blessed memories and affec- 
tions will be stirred by the simple mention of 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 99 

their names ! An historical sketch could not 
be complete with their names left out, and some 
of them deserve permanent biographies, which 
might be read with more profit and spiritual 
stimulus than many that have been written. 
A few of you to-day can recall Charlotte Wool- 
dridge, Patience Pierce, Polly Mauzee, Mary 
Wortham, Rhoda Thomas, Winnifred Cren- 
shaw, Mary P. Foster, Sarah Durham, Jane 
Dandridge, Elizabeth H. Greenhow, Susanna 
Holmes, Nancy Sizer, Isabella Crane, Mary 
Burton, Mary Lipscombe, Julia A. McCarthy, 
Mattie Lee Spotts, Harriet Cary, Martha Steane, 
Fannie W. Leftwich, Elizabeth Dennis, Sarah 
C. Thompson, Elizabeth Gardner, Mary W. 
Apperson, Susan R. Childs, Agnes Cowie, 
Mary J. Rogers, Ann L. Bibb, M. E. M. Gaines, 
Mildred Turpin, Eleanor Johnson, Susan M. 
Evans, Ann H. Powel, Sarah Jane Smith, Erne- 
line White, Mary W. Hardgrove, Maria G. 
Clopton. 

Then there was another group of younger 
women, wives and. mothers, who were early 
called away, some of them from little children 
to whose care and training they seemed so ne- 
cessary to mortal eyes. Think of God's pre- 
cious gifts to the churches of such women, as 



IOO CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

Virginia E. Ford, Georgie Bosher, Martha T. 
Jones, Sarah V. Hooker, Mary C. Wortham, 
Olivia Bargamin, Frances Lyell, Ella Quesen- 
berry, Lucy Spilman, Mary W. Williams, Mar- 
garet L. Patterson, Jane L. Anderson, Carrie 
V. Ryland, Agnes W. Terrell, Edmonia Slaugh- 
ter, Mary T. Harris, Elizabeth & Louisa Dan- 
dridge, Ella J. Lipscombe and Virginia B. Smith. 

We can scarcely conceive of a purer, nobler 
band of Christian women than these, for use- 
fulness on earth and for blessedness in heaven. 

There was another group of unmarried wo- 
men, some of them were girls, whom the Lord 
prepared by early conversion for early transfer 
to heaven, as Betty Clopton, Martha Braxton, 
Adaline Meredith, Mattie Lee Hudgens, Eliza 
Gannaway, Eliza and Nannie Meredith, Susan 
and Margaret Farrar, Virginia Burke, Pamelia 
Ford, Laura Alvey, Ada B. Winfree. 

This is no mere dull catalogue of names, as 
it may sound to some. They represent those 
who belong to the history of the Church, and 
through whose influence that history has been 
made. Our dead of an hundred years — a great 
cloud of witnesses — we may imagine as in the 
sanctuary to-day, looking out through shadowy 
veils, imperceptible to mortal vision. Upon 



CELEB RA TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. I o I 

seats they once filled, and faces they once loved, 
and results their prayers and piety helped to at- 
tain. How can we tell what ranges disem- 
bodied spirits may take ? However, all this 
may be, there is a sense in which we listen 
to the voices of the dead. Influences do not 
die and memories of the pious dead are still 
means of grace to the struggling living. "They 
rest from their labors and their works do follow 
them." 

Of those still living who were connected with 
the Church between 1833 and 1874, is a noble 
band of faithful and effective Christian minis- 
ters, whose biographies will be written when 
their work on earth is finished, and many of 
whom are winning fame and love among our 
Churches. We may simply record the names 
of John O. Turpin of King William County; 
James G. Council of Mathews County; Dr. 
Joseph R. Garlick, Alexander H. Sands, Francis 
C.Johnson of Georgia; Dr. Poindexter S. Hen- 
son of Philadelphia; Dr. W. D. Thomas of Nor- 
folk; W. Harrison Williams of Charlottesville; 
William S. Ryland of Kentucky; Dr. M. Bryan 
Wharton of Georgia; Isaiah T. Wallace of Hen- 
rico; Lansing Burrows of Lexington, Kentucky; 
Richard W. Norton of Tennessee; Dr. A. W. 



102 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

Read of Orange; William H. Tucker, M. D., of 
Louisiana; A. A. Lomax of Mississippi; John 
Blenner, first Pastor of the German Church in 
this city; James L. Vass of South Carolina; Ju- 
lian M. Luck, Edmund Harrison, John Hart, J, 
L. M. Curry, H. A. Tupper, crowning the climax. 

From this long and honorable list I have 
omitted the names of three, who from various 
causes, have left the ministry of our denomina- 
tion. Only three of the large number have 
failed to illustrate and confirm the wisdom of 
the Church in authorizing them to preach the 
gospel of Christ. 

To this list I have yet to add the names of 
six of our honored ministers, who died during 
my pastorate, and at whose funeral services I 
was called to officiate. Of three of these I have 
already spoken, viz : Joseph S. Walthall, Henry 
Keeling, and William M. Gaskins. Z. Jeter 
George, graduated at Richmond College in 1853. 
He was a student for a time at the University 
of Virginia, preaching on Sundays in the neigh- 
boring county churches. In 1857, he became 
the first Pastor of the Manchester Church. He 
died in 1858, in the twenty-seventh year of his 
age. He was a brother of lovely spirit, earnest 
piety, and gave bright promise of usefulness. 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 103 

Henry Watkins had passed his three-score 
and ten, and had for many years been preach- 
ing the gospel of Christ, with little worldly 
compensation. His life was a beautiful illus- 
tration of the meekness, patience, and charity 
which the gospel he studied and loved devel- 
ops. He was Pastor of churches in Powhatan 
and Chesterfield, and preached steadily for 
some years to the Belvidere, now Pine Street, 
Church. He passed to his blessed home in 
March, 1872. 

George William Keesee was born in 1831, 
baptized in the sixteenth year of his age. Grad- 
uated from Richmond College in 1851, spent 
two years at the University of Virginia, was 
Pastor first of Hicksford Church, and then of 
Goldsboro Church in North Carolina, where he 
died in 1861, in the thirtieth year of his life. 
He was amiable in natural disposition, and this 
temper was sweetened by divine grace. Of his 
college course, Dr. Ryland said, he could not 
recall a single irregularity that deserved re- 
proof from his teacher. As a preacher he was 
studious, careful, and conscientious in prepara- 
tion, clear and earnest in delivery. By his 
piety and his gentle and affable bearing he won 
the confidence and love of his people, and his 



104 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

memory is still tenderly cherished by them and 
by all who knew him. 

A brief resume, comparing the condition of 
the Church in 1780 and 1880, may be a fitting 
close to this discourse. A population of 1800, 
in 1 780, has grown to some sixty-five thousand 
in 1880. One Baptist Church of fourteen mem- 
bers, in 1 780, has swelled into nineteen — includ- 
ing Manchester, into twenty-one — Churches 
in 1880; more than one Church for every in- 
dividual member. Those fourteen members 
have increased more than a thousand fold in a 
century, numbering in 1880, 16,847 members, 
including Manchester. In 1780, there was one 
Baptist member to every 1 28 of the whole pop- 
ulation ; in 1880, about one to every four of the 
whole population. Taking all Christian evan- 
gelical denominations, leaving out Roman Catho- 
lics and Jews, instead of two feeble Churches in 
1780, we have fifty Churches with 25,000 mem- 
bers, and instead of one, we have fifty houses 
of worship, the smallest of which is probably 
larger than St. John's was then. 

In fifty years — from 1824 to 1874 — there 
were thirty-five hundred and thirty-eight per- 
sons, professing conversion, baptized into the 
fellowship of this single Church, an average of 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY 



I05 



over seventy a year. Probably a number equal 
to half of that united by certificate or letter, 
making some fifty-three hundred who had united 
with the Church during the half century. Yet, 
in 1874, there were only twenty-four persons 
who had been members in 1835. ^ n January, 
1880, there were only fifteen who were mem- 
bers of the Church in 1835, an ^ tw0 °f them — 
Mrs. Elizabeth Bosher and Mrs. Catharine 
Thomas — two of Christ's saints — have since 
passed away. 

Of the five and a half years that have passed 
since 1874, it is not my place particularly to 
speak. I need only say that the steady, pru- 
dent, judicious, untiring, and consecrated ser- 
vices of Rev. Dr. E. W. Warren have been 
blessed of God to the maintenance and enlarge- 
ment of the efficiency and intelligence of the 
Church ; and that the fervid eloquence, and 
zeal, and devotion of your present pastor, Rev. 
Dr. J. B. Hawthorne — perhaps the most like 
to John Kerr, in the long line of pastors — 
gives promise of still more rapid increase and 
efficiency, than during any period of the past. 
May God grant that these buds of promise 
may ripen into abundant clusters of wholesome 
fruits as year after year rolls by. 
10 



SKETCHES OF DECEASED PASTORS. 



BY W. D. THOMAS. 



DECEASED PASTORS. 



IN reviewing the history of this Church, 
which, under God, has been the source of so 
many holy, widely-diffused, and potent influ- 
ences, it is eminently appropriate that special 
mention should be made of those who have 
presided over it as Pastors and Bishops, and 
who have already fallen on sleep. But in as- 
signing places, at this Centenary Celebration, 
for the particular mention of its Pastors and 
Officers, the Church does not mean to intimate 
that such only have been agents in the upbuild- 
ing of Zion. During all these hundred years 
of church life, holy men and women, occupying 
no prominent positions, holding no office, have 
by their prayers, by their godly living and dili- 
gent activities, contributed largely to its pro- 
gress and efficiency. It would be a joy on this 
occasion to make honorable mention of such 
humble and useful servants of our God ; but it 

10* 109 



I I O CELEB R A TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 

cannot be. Many of them are forgotten; even 
their names are unknown to us. They have 
lived, labored, died, and in so short a time have 
been forgotten upon the earth. It is a sad 
reflection to us; but it does not trouble them. 
They are rejoicing, because their names were 
inscribed upon the imperishable roll of heaven, 
written in the Lamb's Book of Life. And as 
to their work, that abides ever upon the earth. 
It may be hidden out of our sight ; but it none 
the less has its place, and is represented in the 
Church of to-day. The influence of these for- 
gotten followers of our Lord has survived their 
names. By ways we know not, along paths 
we cannot trace, that influence has reached us, 
has infused itself into our life, has helped to 
make us. And while gratefully cherishing the 
memory of those who have been over us in the 
Lord, we also from our hearts to-day give thanks 
to God for the nameless and forgotten saints 
into whose labors we have entered. 

The first Pastor of this Church was Rev. 
Joshua Morris. He was born in James City 
County; but the exact date of his birth is not 
known. The Church Manual of 1875 places 
his death in the year 1838, and at the age of 
seventy-seven years. If this be so, then he 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. I I I 

was only nineteen years old when he came to 
Richmond, and was already preaching in the 
sixteenth year of his age. Dr. Spencer, of 
Kentucky, says, he died in 1837, and was largely 
over eighty years old. This statement, we 
judge, is nearer the fact, since it is not probable 
that he began preaching at so early an age as 
fifteen or sixteen years. Nothing is known of 
his family beyond the fact, mentioned in Sem- 
ple's history, that "his father and uncle preached 
occasionally." He began his Christian life as 
a member of the James City Church. Whether 
he was baptized by Elisha Baker, the founder, 
or by John Goodall, the first Pastor of that 
Church, we cannot say. He was preaching in 
the year 1775 or 1776. 

Mr. Semple tells us, that Elder Baker began 
his labors in Grafton in 1775, that "in no great 
while several were baptized, and Joshua Mor- 
ris, a young preacher of considerable gifts, from 
James City, watered the plants." We next 
trace him as residing in the bounds, and labor- 
ing in connection with the Boar Swamp Church 
— now Antioch. We do not know when he 
entered upon his ministry there ; but while 
serving that Church he began also to preach in 
Richmond at the house of a Mr. Franklin. 



I I 2 CELEBRATION OE THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

His labors were not fruitless. Some few were 
baptized, and he himself removing to Richmond, 
a Church was established under his care in 
1780. Thus the little town, which had been 
only a preaching station of a somewhat flour- 
ishing country Church, rose to the dignity of 
having its own Church and resident Pastor. 
It was a feeble body of only fourteen members. 
Elder Morris continued to be its Pastor for six 
years. 

We have now no records from which to 
judge of his preaching here or trace the pro- 
gress made under his ministry. The fact that 
the little band, worshipping at first in a private 
house, soon erected a small frame " meeting- 
house," indicates some advance, and shows at 
least some energy and something of a progres- 
sive spirit both in the Pastor and the Church. 

The few brief notices of this servant of the 
Church make the impression that he was a 
minister of earnest spirit, readily embracing 
and diligently seeking opportunities of useful 
labor. He may have been without education, 
and there is no reason to believe that he was a 
brilliant preacher, since the discriminating and 
cautious Semple describes him as having 
" considerable gifts." He removed from this 



CELEB R A TION OF THE FIRST CEA TENAR Y. 



113 



city to Kentucky in the year 1786. The im- 
pressions made by the few notices of his minis- 
try and labors in this State are deepened and 
elevated by his busy and useful career in 
Kentucky. Into this field I am enabled to fol- 
low him by the kindness and diligence of Dr. 
Burrows and of Dr. Spencer, who is now en- 
gaged in collecting materials for a history of 
the Baptists of Kentucky. Elder Morris was 
introduced to a Church in Jefferson, now Shel- 
by, County, Kentucky, by William Hickman. 
In speaking of one of his journeys into Shelby 
County, then on the frontiers of civilization, to 
preach for some of the settlers in the forts, 
Mr. Hickman says: "We crossed the river one 
at a time, and swam our horses by the side of 
the canal. We had then twenty miles to go 
in the night. Sometimes it was snowing and 
then the moon shining. We crossed Benson 
nineteen times. At some fords the ice would 
bear us over, at other fords some steps would 
bear us and then we would break in. We 
passed a number of evacuated cabins, the own- 
ers of which had been killed or driven off by the 
Indians. About two o'clock in the morning w T e 
knocked at the fort-gate for admittance. The 
old gentleman was not at home and the old 



I 14 CELEBRATION OE THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

lady had all barred up. It was some time be- 
fore we could convince her who we were, as 
she was afraid of a decoy. But at last she let 
us in." 

There was a Church of eight members 
at this place, called Brashear's Creek. Mr. 
Hickman was urged to settle among them, but 
could not. They asked him to recommend a 
preacher to them. He says : " Brother Joshua 
Morris had just moved to the county, and I 
thought he would suit them. I saw him, told 
him the situation of the people and their wish. 
I told him, if he would like a tour there, I would 
go with him. We both went. Soon after, he 
moved, and his labors were much blessed, and 
many a» tour I took with him afterwards long 
circuits around." 

This Church, since merged into the Shelby- 
ville Church, was at Bracket Owen's Fort, near 
the present site of Shelbyville. It was con- 
structed in 1785, by William Taylor and John 
Whitaker, on the very frontiers of civilization 
in that direction. Assaults by the Indians were 
frequent, and the farmers ploughed under 
arms. 

In subsequent visits Mr. Hickman and his 
associates would be met at the Kentucky River 



CELEBRA TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. I I 5 

by an escort of friends. Sometimes twenty or 
more armed brethren marched with the preach- 
ers as they went from station to station to 
preach the gospel. At this outpost the first 
Pastor settled with his family. 

About ten miles north of Owen's Fort, on 
Fox Run, was another fort and settlement. 
Here Elder Morris preached occasionally, and 
on January 26, 1794, gathered the Christian 
immigrants and baptized converts, and, aided 
by Elder John Whitaker, organized the Fox 
Run Church of fifteen members. It is now a 
flourishing Church in the town of Eminence, 
and retains its original name. William Mar- 
shall, uncle of the Chief-Justice, became its first 
Pastor. On Elk Creek, twelve miles south of 
Owen's Fort, was another preaching station. 
Here on April 27, 1794, Elder Morris consti- 
tuted the Elk Creek Church, of ten members. 
It has become one of the famous churches of 
Kentucky. Dr. Spencer thinks it highly pro- 
bable that he was also " the chief instrument in 
gathering the Buck Creek and Long Run 
Churches in the same region, and which have 
ever since been influential and useful churches. 
Toward the close of the century Elder Morris 
moved northward, into what is now Carroll 



I I 6 CELEB R A TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 

County, and gathered the Ghent Church. In 
1800, April 5, in connection with William Hick- 
man and others, he organized the Port William 
Church, Carroll County, of which he became a 
member and Pastor, and which in later years 
became united with the Ghent Church. From 
Carroll County he moved to Nelson County 
and became the successor of Elder Joseph Bar- 
nett (formerly of Virginia) as Pastor of the 
Cedar Creek Church, next to the oldest 
Church in Kentucky. This was his home the 
remainder of his life. He was also Pastor of 
Mill Creek Church, in the same county, and for 
eighteen months (1 801-2) supplied the pulpit 
of the Severns Valley Church, now Elizabeth- 
town. In this time he received into that 
Church one hundred and forty-six members, 
most of whom he baptized. Among them 
were Isaac Hodgen, who became one of the 
most brilliant and useful ministers of the State, 
and several others who also became preachers. 
In 181 6, assisted by Jeremiah Vardeman and 
-George Waller, a glorious revival blessed his 
Mill Creek Church. In 1819, in connection with 
Moses Pierson and Isaac Taylor, he aided in 
constituting New Hope Church, in Washington 
County, ever since an efficient country Church. 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. I I 7 

Dr. Spencer says of him: ''In person, Mr. 
Morris was rather below medium height, of 
stout build, with a tendency to corpulency." In 
later years, he became so unwieldy from this 
tendency as not to be able to go far from 
home. He was scrupulously neat in his dress 
and elegantly dignified in bearing. As a 
preacher, he was hardly up to mediocrity. He 
spoke rapidly, with great energy and boldness. 
"He spoke as one having authority, reproved 
every species of immorality and sin with 
uncompromising faithfulness and plainness. 
He was a man of practical wisdom. As far as 
known, every church which he gathered, and 
every one with which he was connected (except 
Brashear's Creek, which was wisely merged 
into the Shelby ville), are still in existence, and 
several of them strong and influential churches." 

Surely the memory of this grand old pioneer 
missionary and planter of our ever-green 
churches deserves to be cherished by the child 
of his youth. 

Rev. John Courtney, the Second Pastor of 
this Church, was born in King and Queen 
County, in the year 1744, and was reared under 
Episcopal influences, his father and eldest 
brother being, we are told, "conspicuous and in- 
11 



I I 8 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 

fluential members of that church." He lacked 
the advantages of education. Being quite 
young when his father died, and the estate 
passing legally to the eldest son, he was, it is 
said, "bound apprentice to the business of a 
carpenter." Beyond this nothing is known of 
his early years. He is represented as being 
naturally of a generous, frank, and independent 
spirit. The date of his conversion cannot be 
fixed with precision. He was probably baptized 
by Rev. John Young, by whom the Upper Col- 
lege Church — now Rehoboth, in King William 
County — was planted, and of which Elder Court- 
ney became the first Pastor. Mr. Semple tells 
us that this Church "prospered under his 
care." He is said to have taken an active part 
in the revolutionary struggle. Dr. Jeter ex- 
pressed the opinion that had he been exempt 
from military duty, as under the Colonial 
Laws he was not, it is probable his patriotism 
would have taken him to the field. In support 
of his opinion, he tells us that when more than 
seventy years of age, in response to a call for 
volunteers made by the Governor of the State 
under apprehension of an invasion of the city 
by British troops, Elder Courtney appeared on 
the Public Square, musket in hand. He adds: 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. I I 9 

"The moral influence of such a spectacle must 
have been thrilling." 

From his first field of labor, Mr. Courtney 
removed to Richmond and entered upon his 
pastorate here in the year 1788. He was 
already in the forty-fifth year of his age, and 
until his death, thirty-six years later, served the 
Church either as its exclusive or Senior Pastor. 
His labors were greatly blessed. During his 
pastorate the Church erected a new house of 
worship, and some years before his death had 
occasion to enlarge it. 

Mr. Semple, writing of Richmond in 1809, 
says: "Here, although the Baptists are not the 
most flourishing sect, they stand upon respect- 
able ground ; they have built, by public sub- 
scription, a large brick meeting-house, and 
probably move on, both as respects discipline 
and the conducting of public worship, with as 
much regularity as any people in the Union" — ■ 
viz., the First Union Meeting District, in Dover 
Association. '-Their Pastor, Elder Courtney, 
took the care in the year 1788, and under his 
labors they have enjoyed peace and prosperity." 
According to the ideas then prevalent amongst 
our people and preachers, he received no stipu- 
lated salary. At the close of the morning ser- 



I 20 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

vice on Lord's Day, a hat collection was taken 
by Deacons at each door of the Church. The 
money thus collected was emptied into the hand- 
kerchief of the senior Deacon, wrapped up, car- 
ried to the Pastor's house, and put into a bowl 
in the cupboard. This same, much or little, was 
his salary. The sisters of the Church, by pre- 
sents, from time to time, kept him in clothing.. 
The further needs of his family were supplied 
by the labor of his own hands. 

He was a man without culture, but of vigo- 
rous mind. As a preacher, he possessed no 
brilliant gifts; was plain, earnest, very little, if 
any, above the average of the Baptist preachers 
of his day. He occupied a high position in the 
Dover Association, and sometimes presided 
over that body. His preaching was doctrinal 
and intensely Calvinistic. As remembered in 
his latter years, he was corpulent, with long 
white hair, and venerable in appearance. His 
voice was musical. The first Mrs. Robert Ry- 
land attributed her religious awakening to the 
impression made by hearing Father Courtney 
repeat, in musical, tremulous, and solemn tones, 
the hymn beginning "That awful day will surely 
come." 

It is said that he lacked breadth of view, was 



CELEB RA TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 12 1 

unprogressive; that his religious views and 
plans of effort were stereotyped at the close of 
the Revolutionary War, and that, in his opin- 
ion, all subsequent changes were portentous of 
deterioration and ruin. He opposed Sunday 
Schools as a desecration of the Sabbath; the 
use of hymn books, in public worship, except 
by the preacher, because the churches had no 
such custom. One exception, however, to his 
usual opposition to things new is worthy of 
special notice. When female prayer-meetings 
first began, they excited much opposition, and ap- 
peal was made to old Father Courtney for his 
opinion. Mrs. Halsey — mother of the more 
widely known Mrs. John Hollins — often told how 
he replied that "he had never heard of praying 
doing anybody any harm; and for his part the 
sisters might pray on." On the other hand, his 
tenacity for things old finds a characteristic 
illustration in the following fact. Some of his 
young people were ambitious that their vene- 
rable Pastor should be more up to the times. 
On one occasion a young lady ventured to sug- 
gest that his pronunciation was not altogether 
correct, and, as an example, told him that he 
said "moloncollyy Upon his asking, "What 
ought I to say, honey?" she answered "rnelan- 

1 1* 



122 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

choly!' The good old man replied, "I like 
moloncolly the best." His unprogressiveness 
was due rather to his lack of early advantages 
of education than to his heart. He was neither 
dictatorial nor obstinate. Kind and forbearing 
in spirit, he learned to acquiesce in measures 
introduced against his will. 

As a Pastor, he was discreet, diligent, and 
sympathetic. Even when too old and infirm to 
dismount from his horse he rode, cane in hand, 
from door to door, and calling the friends out 
to him would encourage, counsel, and exhort 
them, sometimes closing his interview with 
prayer on horseback in the street. His manly 
character, godly sincerity, consistent and de- 
vout life, commanded universal respect. He 
was free from worldly ambition. In his dress, 
his manners, his style of preaching, and mode of 
life, it was most obvious that he did not seek 
admiration. He was much in the habit of 
quoting in his sermons the couplet: 

" No foot of land do I possess, 
Nor cottage in this wilderness." 

Some one at last gave him — not, perhaps, 
actually transferring by deed, but virtually a gift 
— a house and lot. Soon after, in preaching, he 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. I 23 

began to quote his favorite couplet, but stopped 
in the midst and corrected himself. Afterwards 
he saw his generous friend and returned the 
property, saying, he would rather have his lines 
than the house. Father Courtney's success was 
due far more to his eminent piety, sound judg- 
ment in pastoral work, and the exercise of 
wholesome discipline, than to the attractiveness 
and ability of his preaching. 

At the time of his death the Church numbered 
about a thousand members, more than two- 
thirds of whom probably were colored people. 
No Pastor ever enjoyed in higher measure the 
confidence and affection of his people. The 
strongest testimony to which is the fact that 
when the increasing infirmities of age prevent- 
ed him from fully meeting the demands of the 
field, the Church procured an Assistant Pastor, 
and continued the plan for thirteen or fourteen 
years. He died December 18th, 1824, an old 
man, full of years, and meet for heaven. It 
cannot be doubted that chiefly to the influence 
and labors of Father Courtney must be attrib- 
uted that conservative religious spirit which has 
distinguished this Church through all its his- 
tory. 

Rev. John Bryce began his labors as the as- 



I 24 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

sistant of Father Courtney about 18 10, and 
continued them, with an interruption of a few 
months, for about twelve years. It is believed 
that he was born in Goochland County; this, 
however, is not definitely known. He was ed- 
ucated for the legal profession, but left the law 
for the pulpit. He was of commanding ap- 
pearance, and his hair retained its glossy black- 
ness until his death at the age of seventy-six 
years. He was a man of undoubted talent, a 
superior preacher, and quite an orator. The 
Senior Pastor entertained for him, and always 
manifested towards him, a fatherly affection. 
The warm-hearted, affectionate Assistant re- 
turned the affection with filial spirit. There was 
between them no rivalry, no jealousy. From 
1823-26 Mr. Bryce resided in Fredericksburg, 
where he preached and practised law. Mr. 
Semple remonstrated with him, urging that this 
course would injure his usefulness and influence 
with his brethren. Mr. Bryce replied, that the 
course was necessary for the support of his 
family. He was never careful about his finances, 
and Mr. Semple said, that if he had received a 
thousand dollars, he would certainly spend fifteen 
hundred ; and even if he received fifteen hundred 
he would as certainly spend two thousand. 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. I 25 

He afterwards removed to Kentucky, and 
engaged in the practice of law. Unfavorable 
reports as to the consistency of his life became 
prevalent. But he afterwards resumed the 
work of the ministry, and closed a useful life 
at Henderson, Kentucky, in the year 1864, at 
the ripe age of seventy-six. 

Rev. Andrew Broaddus, of Caroline County, 
was the Associate of Father Courtney during 
the interval of about nine months mentioned 
above. He was the Apollos of the Virginia 
pulpit, and his praise is to-day in all the churches. 
His published memoir renders unnecessary, 
even if the short time of his connection with this 
Church warranted, a sketch of his useful career. 

In 1822, Rev. Henry Keeling became Co- 
pastor of the Church, and after the death of 
Elder Courtney was really, if not nominally, its 
Pastor for about twelve months. He was the 
son of Rev. Henry Keeling, Sr., a native of 
Princess Ann County, who at the age of eight- 
een became a member of the Church in Nor- 
folk. Mr. Keeling was one of the early pupils 
in the class or school then taught in Philadel- 
phia by Drs. William Staughton and Irah 
Chase, which afterwards grew into Columbian 
College. His usefulness in what is now called 



I 26 CELEBRATION OE THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

distinctively pastoral work was hindered by his 
lack of a genial and social nature. He pre- 
pared his sermons with great care. His 
preaching was highly intellectual, without 
pathos, without warmth, and, in fact, "cold as 
frost." He resigned about the year 1825, and 
became the head of a flourishing School for 
young ladies. He was also the Editor of the 
"Religious Inquirer;" and became yet more 
widely known as the Editor of "The Baptist 
Preacher!' In the latter years of his life he be- 
came the subject of damaging suspicion, which 
caused great pain and perplexity to his breth- 
ren. He died in 1870, at the age of seventy-six. 
Rev. John Kerr entered upon his Richmond 
pastorate in March, 1825. He was born in 
Caswell County, North Carolina, in 1782. His 
father was of Scotch descent, a Baptist, and 
said to have been eminently pious. His moth- 
er, a sister of Gen. Azariah Graves, was a lady 
of the highest social position. She was distin- 
guished for great excellence and energy of 
character, and as a mother was careful and 
wise in the rearing of her children. His early 
education, though not thorough and liberal, was 
superior to that of most of those about him. 
His boyhood was spent in near proximity to 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. \2J 

excellent schools, his parents were such as 
might be expected to appreciate the importance 
of education, and doubtless furnished him the 
best opportunities they could afford. His 
younger brothers are known to have been well 
educated. In early boyhood, it is said, he ac- 
quired readily, and that his disposition and 
manners made him quite a favorite. He had 
both in boyhood and manhood the advantage 
of association with the intelligent and cultured. 
He was converted while teaching in the fam- 
ily of a relative. He attended, out of curiosity 
and for sport, a meeting then in progress at a 
Presbvterian Church, and was stricken down 
by the power of the truth and of the Holy 
Spirit. His conversion was attended with pun- 
gent conviction and great joy. The date of his 
conversion cannot be fixed, but he was bap- 
tized, it is said, August 12th, 1801, when nine- 
teen years old. He delivered a discourse on 
the day of his baptism. Soon afterwards he 
entered the ministry, and was ordained in his 
native county. Then he travelled extensively 
in his own State and in the States of South 
Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia, coming in con- 
tact and association with the more distinguished 
ministers of the time. In 1805, he was mar- 



I 28 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

ried to Mrs. Elizabeth Williams, and settled in 
Halifax County, where he preached, charming 
all by his eloquence, and we cannot doubt turn- 
ing many to righteousness. 

In 1 8 10 or 181 1, he became a candidate for 
Congress and was defeated. He was afterward 
elected, and was in Congress from 1812-1816. 
His entrance into political life was not regarded 
with favor by his brethren, and exerted, as he after- 
wards said, an injurious spiritual influence upon 
himself. At one time he had almost, if not quite, 
decided to give himself wholly to the practice of 
law. A fall from his horse, by which his leg was 
fractured and his life imperilled, became the oc- 
casion of most serious reflection, and he after- 
wards gave himself with fresh consecration to the 
ministry. He continued to preach in Halifax 
County until 1825, but it is not possible now to 
record the result of his labors. Crowds 
attended upon his ministry, and as a preacher 
he was almost idolized by the people. In 
March, 1825, he became Pastor of this Church, 
and served it for eight years. His ministry 
here was generally successful. Nine hundred 
and fifty-seven converts were baptized into the 
Church, and the social character of its member- 
ship was greatly elevated. All the enterprises 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. I 2Q. 

of the denomination received the benefit of his 
sympathy and his magnetic fervor. 

This success was not due to his pastoral 
work, for in this direction he was not industri- 
ous nor active, although of genial nature and in 
social intercourse attractive; nor was it in any 
degree due to his administrative and organiz- 
ing ability, for in these respects he seems to 
have been utterly deficient. His success was 
emphatically that of the preacher. He had all 
the advantages belonging to an imposing per- 
sonal appearance, to a sonorous and melodious 
voice, to ease, grace, and dignity of manner, and 
to fluency of speech. His mind moved quickly; 
his feelings were ardent and intense ; his im- 
agination was royal ; his powers of description 
rarely, if ever, surpassed ; and his diction often 
majestic. Defects of method, of exegesis, of 
matter, and often of taste, were all forgotten 
under the spell of the pathos and eloquence by 
which he moved the hearts of men. Crowds 
flocked to hear him whenever he preached. 
All ages, all classes felt and confessed the 
power of the orator. He did not write his 
sermons, but I am able, through the kindness 
of Rev. E. Dodson, of North Carolina, to quote 
from a sermon delivered by Mr. Kerr in North 
12 



130 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

Carolina, in 1828, at the funeral of Colonel 
Joseph Williams. It may help to form some 
idea of the eminent preacher, although we lack 
the preparation into which he had brought his 
hearers, and must miss the electric power of the 
speaker. Referring to the manner of the Judg- 
ment, Mr. Kerr said : 

" We have heard of well trained armies meet- 
ing in deadly conflict with banners waving high. 
We have heard the warrior's shout, the can- 
non's roar, the clash of arms and clangor of 
trumpets, mingling with the shrieks and groans 
of dying thousands. But what are all these 
compared with the second appearance of him 
who once visited this world in the form of 
a servant, and became obedient unto death. 
Behold his great white throne. Behold, he 
cometh with clouds, with the voice of the arch- 
angel and the trump of God, with ten 
thousand of his saints and with all his glory, 
— with the glory of the Father and the holy 
angels, — with the thunders and fires of 
heaven's artillery playing and flashing around 
him, — with myriads of winged reapers brand- 
ishing flaming sickles, ready to reap the great 
harvest of the earth. Behold his face, once 
bathed in sweat and tears and blood, now 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. I 3 I 

shining- with such lustre that the sun blushes 
into everlasting night, and the moon bleeds, and 
the heavens and the earth start from their long 
established position and flee away, and there is 
found no place for them. 

"We have heard of earthquakes shaking the 
globe and filling the world with consternation ; 
of volcanic mountains belching- out their burn- 
ing lava and desolating the surrounding regions, 
— but what are all these compared with the last 
groans of an agonizing and expiring universe, — 
with the awful grandeur of that moment when 
the retiring earth shall pause in her flight, 
obedient to the voice of him who has the keys 
of death, and opening her bosom surrender her 
myriads of long held captives ? Now we be- 
hold the dead, small and great, stand' before 
God. Now we behold Adam and his last son 
with their intermediate connexions in order be- 
fore the face of him who sits upon the throne. 
Here Judas Iscariot and Pilate and Caiaphas 
shall see him upon the throne, whom they be- 
trayed and condemned. Here Herod and John 
the Baptist, and Paul and Felix, shall have their 
last interview. Here the blood-stained tyrant 
shall meet the victims of his power ; the mid- 
night assassin, covered with gore, shall face him 



I 3 2 CELEBRA TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 

who fell beneath his dagger; the unfeeling 
votary of Mammon shall stand before the widow 
and orphan who groaned under his iron hand. 
O my soul, how great the day, how grand, how 
awful the exhibition ! " 

Many incidents have been told indicating his 
power over masses, and over persons of every 
rank in society and every degree of cultivation. 
Sometimes, in those days of fearless freedom, 
some would fairly shout under his preaching. 
Mr. Kerr had his own way of controlling and 
regulating such demonstrations. On one 
occasion an old shouting sister exclaimed, " I 
want to go home to heaven and stay in this 
wicked world no longer." Mr. Kerr said to 
her " Wait, my sister ; don't start on foot ; 
wait till your Heavenly Father shall send his 
chariot and steeds of light." In 1832, Mr. 
Kerr resigned his pastorate, in order to devote 
himself to the work of an evangelist, but was 
induced to continue nominally the Pastor of the 
Church, until towards the close of 1833. 
Historical fidelity requires me to add, that by 
this time his lack of close application and studi- 
ous habits was beginning to tell upon his ministry 
here, despite his splendid gifts as an orator. 

After his removal from Richmond, he settled 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 133 

near Danville, and spent the remainder of his 
life chiefly in evangelistic labors, crowds always 
attending his preaching, and multitudes con- 
verted under it. He died on the 29th day of 
September, 1842. It is gratifying to know 
that, after long neglect, a monument has been 
recently erected to mark the grave of this great 
and good man. 

Rev. Isaac Taylor Hinton, the successor of 
Mr. Kerr, was a native of the city of Oxford, 
England. His father was a man of culture and 
Pastor of the Baptist Church in Oxford. His 
mother was a sister of the celebrated Isaac 
Taylor. Two of his brothers were Baptist 
ministers. Mr. Hinton was well educated, 
chiefly by his father. In early life he was en- 
gaged in the printing business. In 1830, he 
came to this country and resided for two years 
in Philadelphia. 

In April, 1833, he was invited to Richmond 
as an Assistant to Mr. Kerr, and on the 29th of 
December of the same year was unanimously 
elected sole Pastor. He was a very superior 
preacher ; acute, able, and instructive. This 
was his first pastoral charge, and he gave him- 
self to his work with zeal and constant industry. 
The Church steadily increased and improved 

1 2* 



134 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

under his care. He was a man of great system, 
of remarkable ability as an organizer. In 1835, 
Mr. Hinton resigned his charge, moved first to 
Chicago, then to St. Louis, and in 1844 to New 
Orleans. Here he fell a victim to the yellow 
fever in August, 1847, while lovingly and 
actively ministering to the sick and dying. 

Rev. Dr. T . I . Jeter, just gone to heaven, was 
born on the 18th day of July, 1802, in the 
county of Bedford, that nursing mother of so 
many distinguished ministers of the gospel. 
He became the Pastor of this Church on the 
first Lord's Day of the year 1836, and was its 
faithful and efficient servant for more than 
thirteen years. During this time he baptized 
nearly a thousand converts, and the Church 
made steady and healthful progress. It was 
under his pastorate that this house of worship 
was erected, and the colored membership was 
organized into a separate Church. 

It is impossible to estimate the extent to 
which the Church is indebted to these wise 
steps for its development and progress. The 
"Recollections of a Long Life," so recently writ- 
ten by himself, the admirable biographical sketch 
published immediately after his death, and the 
complete biography soon to be issued, render 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 135 

any detailed account of his career and services 
unnecessary here and now. We know that not 
only this Church, but all our churches, and all 
the enterprises of our denomination have felt 
the mighty influence of his counsels, his efforts, 
and his spirit. We know that, of all the Vir- 
ginia Baptist preachers, he was the most influ- 
ential in his own State, and the most widely 
known beyond it. 

It would be a mournful pleasure to speak at 
length of such a man, whom it has been my 
privilege to reverence from my youth up, and 
by whose ministry my early spiritual life was 
nourished. Even if time allowed it, the much 
which has been said and written, and which 
need not be repeated here, would exclude me 
from such a privilege. And yet your patience 
will indulge me just a little to speak of him. 

He was not when he assumed this pastorate, 
nor when he resigned it, just the man he was 
when he died. For he belonged to that order 
of men, " elect and precious," who keep on 
growing through a long life, and who attain the 
very flower of their manhood at the age when 
others enter their second childhood. 

He was an example of the influence of Chris- 
tianity upon intellectual as well as moral devel- 



136 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

opment. It is true that he was well endowed 
by nature. He did not receive the imperial 
gift of genius; nor do I claim for him the 
capacity of profound thought; nor yet of extra- 
ordinary logical powers; but he undoubtedly 
possessed by nature unusual mental vigor and 
clearness of vision, while thirst for knowledge 
and the desire to excel characterized him from 
childhood. In his case, as in that of every re- 
generate man, his natural endowments consti- 
tuted the raw material out of which the spiritual 
man was made. But such natural gifts as his, 
under the sway of mere natural ambition, would 
never have made the Dr. Jeter, whom we know, 
intellectually any more than morally. The in- 
fluence of his personal experience of God's 
grace; the influence of the resolutions, the 
hopes, and the responsibilities of the gospel 
firmly believed — this it was which quickened all 
his powers, nerved and braced his will, directed 
his aspirations, helped to make constant and 
untiring his application, and so actually devel- 
oped his potentialities, and made the man. 

I cannot venture to speak of his spiritual 
manhood; time fails us. I mention only one 
or two rare combinations in his character. 

He was a man of strong convictions, and 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 137 

tenacious of his opinions. He would, I know, 
readily enough yield when convinced of error, 
but it was not easy to convince him. He was 
also as much bent, as any man, upon making 
his convictions the convictions of others also. 
Yet he possessed such sublime generosity of 
forbearance, as to make it impossible for him to 
be bitter or even discourteous towards others, 
not agreeing- with him. Blessed combination 
of splendid qualities! 

He was — at least as I saw him — fully con- 
scious of his own powers. This is true of every 
man who is born to lead. Yet he was truly 
humble. Free from vanity, he was equally free 
from an assumed and pretentious humility. 
They were equally alien to his realness. But 
I cannot portray him. He was as Dr. J. A. 
Broadus has well said, " Saul in stature and 
Samuel in spirit." But you know him, and for 
the privilege, many of you will thank God on 
earth and in heaven. Oh, even as John the 
Baptist came in the power and spirit of Elijah, 
so may God also send us others in the power 
and spirit of Jeremiah Bell Jeter "of blessed 
memory." 

After the resignation of Dr. Jeter, the Church 
remained without a Pastor for some time. The 



I38 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

pulpit was supplied occasionally by the late Dr. 
James B. Taylor, and the Rev. Dr. Robert 
Ryland, still spared to the world, and whom we 
welcome here to-day ; and for several months 
by the Rev. C. B. Jennett, young, handsome, 
gifted, and pious, who died in Augusta, Georgia, 
at the early age of twenty-seven years. 

Ye are God's building, and these are the 
laborers, whom, having finished their appointed 
work upon his house, he has taken into rest. 
They were very unlike each other; but they 
were all yours, and the same Lord gave them. 
He wisely sent them one after another to do the 
needed work. With their different gifts they 
have wrought at different stages in the progress 
of the building — some digging out the founda- 
tion; some laying down the lowest stones, soon 
all covered up and out of sight; some bringing 
together the lively stones; some arranging' and 
placing them in position ; some cementing and 
riveting them together ; and some, with delicate 
skill, polishing and adorning. The workmen 
are many and the workmanship is varied, but 
the building is one ; and all the work wrought 
upon it in the name of the Lord shall abide 
forever. So that in the end, the building finished, 
the builders shall all rejoice together, and that 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. I 39 

old strife, "Who shall be accounted the greatest," 
together with that old division, "I am of Paul, 
and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas," over for- 
ever, shall with one mind and one heart join 
in the song, "Not unto us, but unto thy name 
be the glory." 



HOUSES OF WORSHIP. 

BY 

W. H. GWATHMEY 

AND 

C. WALTHALL. 



THE HOUSE OF ONE FRANKLIN." 

By W. H. GWATHMEY. 



From Mrs. Ann M. Shepherd, an intelligent 
and worthy member of our Church, who is now 
sixty-seven years of age, I learn that the house 
of "one Franklin" in which the First Church 
was constituted, in the year 1 780, stood at the 
Northeast corner of Carrington and Pink 
Streets, near the present Northeast suburbs of 
the city. Her oldest sister, Mrs. Tyler, long 
since dead, formerly resided on the adjoining 
lot, and in visiting her sister, she has many a 
time seen the Franklin House, and has been 
in it. 

She describes it as a small wooden building, 
containing a single room, of scarcely more 
than sixteen or eighteen feet in dimensions, 
with a smaller shed-room attached on the 
western side, and a chimney in the middle. 
The lot fronted about forty feet on the north 
side of Carrington Street, and the house was 

H3 



144 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENIENARY. 

on the Southeast corner of the lot. It is a part 
of the property of the estate of the late Bern- 
hard — commonly known as " Barney " — Briel, 
where he resided for many years before his 
death, which occurred in the year 1875, at 
eighty-two years of age. Some of these facts 
I ascertained by personal inspection of the 
premises, which I recently visited with her. 
Mrs. Briel — the widow of Mr. " Barney 
Briel" — is still residing on the old homestead, 
and is the youngest sister of Mrs. Shepherd. 
She is a Baptist, and a lady of much energy, 
which she exhibited, in the management Q f busi- 
ness matters, previously to her husband's death. 
She conducted me to the spot, which is now 
enclosed as a part of her flower garden. She 
fully substantiated the statement of Mrs. Shep- 
herd, and told me further, that for many years 
she had in her personal possession the original 
Title Deeds to the property, conveyed to her 
husband by the heirs of Mr. Franklin; and had 
frequently examined them, and conversed with 
her husband on the subject. The house was 
removed only a few years before the com- 
mencement of her residence there as the sec- 
ond Mrs. Briel. In her earlier life, she had 
often seen the house, and having been in it, she 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. I 45 

remembers its appearance and character per- 
fectly well. 

The mother of these ladies, Mrs. Murray, was 
long a member of our Church, and died in 1850, 
at an advanced age. From her and their uncle, 
Mr. Thomas Murray, who was considerably 
older, and who joined the Church while yet an 
apprentice boy, they derived what they know of 
the matter. 

Mr. Murray died about 1831 or 1832, at sixty- 
one years of age. He was an earnest and ac- 
tive Christian, well posted in the early history 
of the Church, and enthusiastic in his interest 
in it. 

Mrs. Shepherd states that she has often lis- 
tened to the animated conversations between 
him and her mother on the subject. Her father 
and uncle remembered well events that tran- 
spired during the Revolutionary War, and one 
of their sisters was then a grown woman. The 
testimony of other elderly persons who have 
resided in the vicinity in years long past, is of 
the same tenor. 

One venerable and trustworthy gentleman, 
Mr. Wm. Allen, — now in his eightieth year, — 
states that he was intimately acquainted with 
Mr. Wm. Franklin, the only son of Mr. John 

13* 



I46 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

Franklin, and that he distinctly remembers him 
as having served his time with Mr. Thos. Did- 
dep, a famous tailor of those days, and that he 
never knew a more genial or kindly-hearted 
man, though neither he, or his only sister, Mrs. 
Haywood, were ever professors of religion, as 
far as can be ascertained. He remembers once 
attending a wedding at this house, then occu- 
pied and owned by Wm. Franklin, by inheri- 
tance, from his father. 

The main facts as to the identification of the 
"Franklin House" and its location seem not to 
be disputed : and it is presumed that there 
need be no future doubt or question on the 
subject. 

I learn that besides Mr. John Franklin, at 
whose house the Church was constituted ; Mr. 
John Williams, grandfather of our sister, Miss 
Susan Williams — lately deceased, but well- 
known to many of us ; Mrs. Lewis, great- 
grandmother of our sister, Mrs. Julius A. Hob- 
son ; and Mrs. Martha Miller, grandmother of 
Mrs. Shepherd, — were constituent members. At 
the house of Mrs. Miller, situated near the 
corner of Eighteenth and Venable Streets, the 
Church met for worship. For how long a 
period it is not known. Probably sometimes 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 



147 



also in other private houses in the vicinity — and 
subsequently in the Hall over the Market 
House on Seventeenth and Main Streets. Mrs. 
Shepherd states that her mother told her, that 
she had many times attended the service there, 
and that the Church while worshipping there had 
been favored with a gracious outpouring of the 
Holy Spirit upon the people, and a more or 
less extensive revival of religion. 

And finally, it is stated, that the services con- 
tinued to be held in this Hall, till the meeting- 
house on Cary Street was built and ready for 
the occupancy of the Church. 



HOUSES OF WORSHIP. 

By C. WALTHALL. 



THE first house of worship, erected by the 
Church, was located on the north side of 
D, or Cary Street, at a point near the 
centre, between Second and Third Streets. 
Some think it was west of the line that divides 
the two quarter sections of the square. The 
assessor's book of 1798, 1799, and 1800, places 
it on lot 659, which lot is east of that line. 

The question has been raised whether the 
Church owned the ground on which the house 
stood. The assessor so regarded it; for, on his 
book, under the head of proprietors, the lot is 
charged to the "Baptist Meeting/' The same 
assessor transferred this lot in 1801 to another 
party. This indicates that .the Church sold it at 
some time between 1798 and 1801. Of course, 
nothing can be learned from the assessor's 
books as to the exact position of the house. 
But that he assessed the Church with that lot is 
148 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 149 

clear; and as there is circumstantial evidence 
that it was not on the eastern side, we place it 
at or near the western boundary of the lot. It 
seems probable that it stood somewhat removed 
from the street, or highway. At this late day, 
no more minute description of the house can 
be given than that quoted by Dr. Burrows from 
Mr. Mordecai, on page 65 of this volume. It 
was, doubtless, very economically built. The 
Church had only a few members; and they, we 
suppose, were in limited circumstances. It is 
not unlikely that members of the Church built 
the house by their own personal labor. Unpre- 
tending as it was, still it was a sanctuary, where 
much fervent prayer was made for blessings 
which we enjoy to-day. 

But we take leave of this spot, and follow 
this devoted band to their new church-house, of 
which we may speak more understandingly. 

The next house of worship was erected on 
ground presented to the Church by Dr. Philip 
Turpin, of Chesterfield County, in 1802, at the 
northeast corner of H, or Broad, and College 
Streets. As first built, this house stood at some 
distance from both Broad and College Streets, 
and also from the eastern boundary of the lot. 
Its dimensions were about forty by forty feet, 



150 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

with a recess on the west side large enough for 
a small gallery, and possibly a corresponding 
recess and gallery on the east side. 

In process of time it became necessary to in- 
crease its seating capacity. The house was 
enlarged by extending the eastern wing, and by 
adding to the front or southern side. Thus the 
house was brought near to the line of Broad 
street. There are no records extant that show 
when these additions were made. 

From the records of the Court we learn that 
in or about the year 1819 a second deed was 
made by Dr. Turpin to this lot. The objects 
were to correct the first deed, it having been 
discovered that there was some discrepancy 
between the quantity of ground conveyed and 
the actual quantity the lot contained; and to cor- 
rect some irregularity in the trusteeship. It is 
probable that this discovery resulted from a 
survey of the ground then made with a view to 
enlarging the house. If so, these additions 
were made at or about the time this amended 
deed was granted. This, however, is con- 
jectural. 

In 1827, the Church, receiving large acces- 
sions, found it necessary to increase still fur- 
ther the capacity of the house. This was done 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY 



151 



by adding twenty feet to the west wing. This 
being accomplished, the house assumed the form 
and dimensions which it had when pulled down, 
in 1876, to build on the same site the First 
African Church. 

In 1838, the Church, then composed of whites 
and colored members, had so increased, that 
the house, capacious as it was, could not hold 
even the membership, when there was a full 
attendance. 

This necessitated the adoption of some means 
of relief. The subject was discussed from time 
to time till 1840, when all necessary arrange- 
ments were made for the white and colored 
members to separate. The former proposed 
to the latter, to relinquish the house to them, 
on certain conditions stipulated. The proposi- 
tion being accepted by the colored members, 
the whites purchased the eligible lot at the 
northwest corner of Broad and Twelfth Streets, 
on which they erected a new and spacious edi- 
fice. It was dedicated October 17th, 1841. 
The house was designed by Mr. Thomas U. 
Walter, of Philadelphia. The several parts 
of the work were done as follows : the stone 
work by Alvey Take, the brick by Jesse 
Williams, the carpentering by John and Samuel 



I 5 2 CELEBRA TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 

Freeman, the roofing by D. and C. R. Weller, 
the upholstering by John D. Smith. 

In 1858, the building was enlarged by adding 
to the rear some thirteen or fourteen feet. In 
the spring of 1868, with a view of making 
room for the organ, which the Church had 
agreed to put in the house, further alterations 
were made in the rear. 

In 1870, the attendance, especially of young 
children of the Sunday-school, having in- 
creased, the room now known as the Side 
Chapel, was built at the northwest corner of 
the main building. 

The whole cost of this house of worship, 
embracing the original, and all subsequent en- 
largement, aggregates about $49,000. Several 
thousand dollars had been spent in repairing, 
renewing furniture, and repainting. Not less 
than $55,000 have been spent on the house. 
This is the House in which we to-day assemble. 
May it stand, as it promises, for ages to come, 
and within its walls, may multitudes be fitted 
for dwelling in the house not made with hands, 
eternal in the heavens. 



OFFICERS OF THE CHURCH 

BY 

J. B. WATKINS. 



OFFICERS OF THE CHURCH. 



THE discourses of the morning have given 
adequate attention to the Pastors of the 
Church. My task is limited to sketches 
of other officers. Propriety suggests that these 
delineations be devoted chiefly to the dead. 
The future annalist will do justice to the memory 
of the men now moving among us. 

Among the living, we have had, as Clerks, 
Christopher Walthall and John C. Williams ; as 
Treasurers, James P. Tyler and James L. Ap- 
person. The present Clerk is D. O. Davis. 
The present Treasurers, R. B. Lee and Wm. 
H. Tatum. The former Deacons, now living, 
are John C. Stanard, Geo. J. Sumner, J. B. 
Watkins, U. G. Hoyt, and John Hart. The 
present Deacons are L. R. Warren, J. B. Hill, 
R. S. Sadler, O. H. Chalkley, William F. Har- 
wood, William G. Dandridge, A. P. Fox, 

155 



156 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

William H. Gwathmey, Robert H. Bosher, and 
Christopher Walthall. 

These sketches must be brief. Those of the 
earlier officers will be less complete because of 
lack of information. Greater detail will be 
given to those living later, and better known, 
and whose terms of service were longer. 

Herbert C. Thompson and Thomas J. Glenn 
were the earliest Clerks of whom we have any 
record. They were faithful officers and good 
men. The former withdrew from the Church 
in 1820 to assist in the formation of the Second 
Church; and the latter, in 1832, united with 
those who held the views of Mr. Alexander 
Campbell. 

David Roper Crane and John Humes Mc- 
Carthy served the Church as Clerks, each about 
five years. The former from 1848 to 1853, the 
latter from 1854 to 1858. They were lovely 
and pleasant in their lives, and in their death, 
they were not long divided. 

David R. Crane was the eldest son of James 
C. Crane, a Church Deacon, of whom mention 
will presently be made. He was gifted in prayer, 
and in public address ; and was favored with a 
fine voice, and excellent musical talent. He 
was an efficient Sunday-school teacher, a con- 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 



157 



scientious, lowly Christian ; and as a recorder 
and keeper of die proceedings of die Church 
he had no superior. He died of consumption 
in 1853, leaving a young wife and tender babe 
to lament their loss. 

Failing fast, while with the family of his father- 
in-law near this city, his wish to be brought 
home to die was gratified. As he calmly passed 
away, in 1855, he murmured: " accepted in the 
beloved ; the will of the Lord." 

John H. McCarthy was a victim of the same 
fell disease. At the age of twenty-seven years, 
he fell asleep in Jesus in 1859, calmly directing 
arrangements for his funeral, and giving me- 
mentoes of affection to weeping ones at his bed- 
side. His life was a.n appropriate prelude to 
such a death. His official duties were faithfully 
and satisfactorily performed. 

Without regard to chronological order, the 
following sketches are of deceased Deacons: 

Robert Hyde, Onan Ellyson, and Charles H. 
Hyde were among the earliest of whom we 
have any record. When Robert Hyde was 
appointed Deacon is not known, owing to the 
loss of the first record books. Mr. Ellyson 
was made Deacon in 1825. Mr. Charles H. 
Hyde, a son of Robert, entered the deaconry in 

14* 



158 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

1827. These three brethren left the Church in 
1832, and assisted in the formation of the Dis- 
ciples Church, now worshipping in the building 
at the corner of Seventh and Grace Streets. 
The Hydes have descendants in some of our 
churches, and Mr. Ellyson has two well-known 
sons, who are members of the Second Baptist 
Church of this city. 

Anthony R. Thornton was a Deacon of the 
Church until his death in 1828. The length of 
his official term is unknown. Probably it was 
twenty-five or thirty years. He was a con- 
spicuous man in the community, and exerted a 
good influence. He is represented as tall and 
commanding in person. The office of Deputy 
Marshall of the United States Court, under 
General J. W. Pegram, was filled by him. His 
associates, now living, bear testimony to his in- 
terest and usefulness in the Church. 

Peter Winston united with the Church in 
1826. He was an honored Deacon, perhaps 
for ten or twelve years. Active and attentive 
to duty, genial and pleasant in manner, he was 
universally esteemed in the community, and in 
the Church. He died in the neighboring 
county of Chesterfield in the year 1841, the 
funeral services taking place from this Church. 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 159 

Prof. Charles H. Winston, one of his sons, is a 
member of our Church. Samuel Hardgrove 
was a Deacon of the Church from 1827 to 1829, 
and continued an esteemed member until his 
death in 1862. 

Zachary Lewis was a Deacon from 1827 to 
1833, when he withdrew from the Church by 
letter. His subsequent history is unknown. 
He is represented as a faithful Christian and 
officer, with an unblemished reputation. Simon 
Frayser was a Deacon from 1829 until his death 
in 1834, in the forty-third year of his age. 
Grateful witness is borne to the faithful and 
acceptable manner in which he discharged his 
official and Christian duties. He was peculiarly 
gifted in prayer. The eloquent Mr. Kerr 
often called on him to lead the supplications of 
the assembly, at the close of his thrilling ser- 
mons. Of fine personal appearance, and 
engaging manners, he was very popular with 
all classes of the community, and dispensed a 
generous hospitality. He has in this city a well- 
known son, identified with the origin and 
growth of the Venable Street Baptist Church. 

F. J. Lewis, Joseph Starke, and B. W. Wal- 
thall were elected Deacons in 1833. Mr, 
Lewis served about two years, and was dis- 



l6o CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

missed from the Church by letter, and removed 
to the West. Mr. Starke served about the 
same length of time, and withdrew from the 
Church to assume the duties of a gospel 
minister. Mr. Walthall served as a Deacon 
four years. He then moved to Mississippi, 
where he maintained a high character, and 
reared an interesting family. At an advanced 
age he still lives, and is a member of the 
Episcopal Church. During their official terms, 
these brethren were consistent and efficient 
Christians. Mr. Starke as a minister has re- 
ceived to-day a deserved tribute at the hands 
of Dr. Burrows. 

W. E. Clopton and J. Harvie Temple served 
as Deacons in 1835, about one year each. 
They were then dismissed by letters and left the 
city. Mr. Clopton was a brother of an able 
jurist, the late Judge John B. Clopton, and is 
represented as a faithful officer and Christian. 
Similar testimony is borne to the character and 
services of Mr. Temple. They left the Church 
and the city about the same time. Mr. Temple 
resumed his residence here, and died in the 
year 1871. He has an aged sister, and a 
nephew bearing his name, who are members of 
this Church. John Farrar united with the 



CEL EBRA TION OF THE FIRST CENTENA RY. I 6 1 

Church by baptism In 1842. He was elected a 
Deacon in 1848, and served for ten years, when 
he died in Richmond in 1858, lamented by a 
large circle of relatives, friends, and brethren. 
He occupied prominent business positions, and 
was at one time in prosperous circumstances. 

Richard Reins was born on the 19th of De- 
cember, 1797, in the county of King William, 
of wealthy parents, but was early left an orphan, 
and stripped of his patrimony. At the age of 
seventeen he entered into business in this city. 
He united with the Church by baptism in 1826. 
In 1833, he was made a Deacon, and discharged 
the duties of the office for thirty-eight years 
most faithfully, until his death in Richmond in 
1 87 1. His nature was generous, ardent, and 
resolute. He did nothing by halves. Into 
every enterprise or effort he threw his whole 
soul. By industry, he accumulated a comfort- 
able estate, from which he gave liberally to 
every good cause. No agent of any important 
enterprise appealed to him in vain. His friends 
sometimes deemed him extravagant in his gifts. 
The distinguished Luther Rice, his friend and 
frequent guest, for whom one of his sons is 
named, received from him a donation for Colum- 
bian College, which was deemed so large, that a 



I 62 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

pastor present exclaimed: "Brother Reins, the 
Baptists should certainly see to it that you 
never suffer want." His decision, promptness, 
and dispatch were remarkable. Serious mis- 
takes he doubtless made, but as Bourrienne said 
of Napoleon, he went forward with so much 
celerity and vigor that he often ran them down 
and cleared them. He was a confiding friend, 
and a hospitable host. Sincere and honest him- 
self, he lost heavily by unsuspecting faith in 
others. Adversity at last overtook him. The 
infirmities of age, and losses and crosses 
wrecked his earthly hopes. But he had higher 
hopes, to which he clung to the last. In weak- 
ness and depression they cheered him, and in 
the supreme hour they sustained him, until his 
freed spirit fled to the realms of the blest. One 
who knew and loved him writes: "A warmer, 
truer, braver heart never beat in human breast. 
While many seem to be more religious than 
thev are, Mr. Reins was more so than he out- 
wardly appeared." He was one of the Build- 
ing Committee for the erection of this house of 
worship. 

James Sizer was born in Caroline County, 
Virginia, on the 18th of January, 1784. Like 
Reins, he embarked in business here in early 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 163 

life, and amassed an independent fortune. In 
1827, he was baptized into the fellowship of the 
Church, and two years later was made a Deacon, 
and discharged the duties of the office for thirty- 
eight years, until his death in 1867. His 
nature was not to lead, and to take a promi- 
nent part in the affairs of the Church. 

He was quiet, unobtrusive, uniformly consis- 
tent, and interested in whatever pertained to 
the interests of Christ's Kingdom. As 
Treasurer of the Church, and member of the 
Building Committee which superintended the 
erection of this house, he was energetic, atten- 
tive, and liberal. At length financial embarass- 
ments overtook him. He lost the gains of 
years. But his integrity was never questioned, 
and on his reputation no blemish rested. He 
submissively met his reverses, and retained the 
respect of every one. His life extended to 
four-score and four years. Touching at his 
birth the close of one revolution and at his 
death the close of another, he linked together 
the experiences of four generations. He anti- 
cipated death, and with entire composure 
awaited its approach. Among his papers the 
following was found, written with his own hand, 
on his eightieth birth-day: "The word of God, 



I 64 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 

the Old and New Testament, are precious to 
read, contemplate, and meditate upon. Read 
19th Psalm of David. But my trust is in a 
risen Saviour, Jesus Christ, who came to seek 
and to save sinners such as I am. 18th January, 
1864. Jas. Sizer." Thus sustained, he trust- 
fully yielded his long life into the hands of his 
Saviour on the 18th March, 1867. He was a 
member of the Board of Trustees of the Baptist 
Seminary, from which our College sprang. 

Archibald Thomas was born March 28th, 
1796, in Caroline County, Virginia, where he 
passed his childhood and youth. In early man- 
hood he began business in Richmond, which 
was successfully pursued until he became finan- 
cially independent. He was converted and 
entered the Church in 1826, and in February 
of the following year was made Deacon, filling 
the office for thirty years, until the date of his 
death. He was a member and the Treasurer 
of the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern 
Baptist Convention, from its formation until 
near the close of his life. Not confining him- 
self to the technical routine of duty, he frequently 
in his correspondence with the missionaries, 
addressed to them words of affectionate sym- 
pathy and interest. He was a member of the 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 165 

Building Committee for the erection of this 
Church and of the Board of Trustees of the 
Baptist Seminary. 

On the Lord's Day just preceding his death, in 
April 1 861, a collection was expected to be 
taken in the Church for the Foreign Mission 
Board. The disturbance in public affairs pre- 
vented it. That afternoon the Treasurer of 
the Board, visiting him, received from him a 
twenty-dollar bill, which he had intended to 
give at the collection. No man was ever more 
hospitable. In his pleasant home, many of the 
most esteemed and eminent members and min- 
isters of the denomination were courteously 
entertained. Mr. Thomas was not demonstra- 
tive. To be appreciated, he had to be known. 
But when known, he was found to be genial, 
true, and loving in every relation of life. He 
attracted by no art of manner, but grew upon 
his friends, and bound them to him with more 
than " triple bands of steel." To duty he in- 
flexibly adhered, and as a church member was 
a strict disciplinarian. Not that he loved his 
fellows less, but the purity of Christ's Church 
more. Though his health was feeble for some 
months, his death was sudden and unexpected. 
On the night of the ist of May, 1861, he 
i5 



I 66 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

retired to rest, with no alarming symptoms. 
The quick ear of his wife caught sounds of 
labored breathing. The deadly dart defied all 
remedies, and in a few moments he passed 
away. For nearly a score of years, the happi- 
ness of heaven has been his. But a few weeks 
since, his glorified spirit doubtless derived fresh 
infusion of joy, by the blissful entrance into 
rest of the noble wife of his youth and 
manhood. 

James C. Crane was born on the 7th of Sep- 
tember, 1803, in Newark, New Jersey. Early 
left fatherless, he was carefully trained by a 
pious mother and elder sister. The latter 
taught him such apothegms as the following, on 
which seemed modeled his character: "Learn 
to be independent." " Never lean on any- 
body." " Command the respect of others by de- 
serving it." "Disdain all subterfuges." "Ad- 
here conscientiously to truth and right." "Above 
all, make the Bible your constant study 
and guide." At the age of sixteen Mr. Crane 
came to Richmond, entering his elder brother's 
store as a clerk. He joined the Second Baptist 
Church, then in charge of Rev. James B. Tay- 
lor. At the age of nineteen he thus writes to a 
brother in New jersey: "The Second Church 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. \6j 

have been building a new meeting-house. We 
had to pay our money pretty smartly. But 
what we have is not our own, and we ought to 
recollect that we are but stewards, and will have 
to give an account of our stewardship at the 
last day." What golden words for a youth of 
nineteen ! How becoming would they be for 
the youths of to-day! In 1839, business inter- 
ests took him. to Baltimore, where he remained 
about two years. He then returned to Rich- 
mond and united with this Church. He was 
elected Deacon about the year 1842. In busi- 
ness, as in everything, he was a man of won- 
drous energy, accuracy, and decision. Dr. 
Jeter said of him : " His word was accounted 
his bond, and his bond as the bill of a specie 
paying bank." His type of manhood was 
positive, direct. Gentle reproofs of the profane, 
kindly invitations to young men to enter the 
Church and Sunday-school, and generous gifts 
to every good cause, were some of his methods 
of doing good. As a hearer of the word, he 
was never listless. He sought "first the king- 
dom of God," and allowed no secular affairs to 
detain him from public worship, the prayer- 
meeting, or the Board Conference. He pos- 
sessed striking versatility of talent. One seeing 



I 6& CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 

him leading the singing, would say, " he ought 
to teach music." Superintending the Sunday- 
school, he was deemed just the man for a Sun- 
day-school Missionary. Participating in Board 
deliberations, he seemed admirably adapted to 
a controlling secretaryship. Expounding the 
word, and leading the devotional meeting, many 
declared the gospel ministry his manifest voca- 
tion. The problem of his devotement to this 
high calling, he long and anxiously pondered. 
That his decision was conscientious, none can 
doubt. The key-note of his life is touched in a 
letter to his sister: " Oh that my heart and 
thoughts might be chained to the glory of God ! 
Shall I, at the last day, behold one on the left 
hand, whom I might have warned, or been the 
instrument of saving ?" Oh that such solemn 
inquiries might be made by all of us ! He was 
a fast and efficient friend of Foreign Missions. 
Abundant evidences from his own pen, and 
from others, might be adduced in proof of his 
great usefulness and consecration as Deacon 
and Sunday-school Superintendent. It is no 
disparagement of others to say, that no man, 
within any equal period of his connection with 
this Church, ever exerted an influence so wide, 
deep, and beneficent. But now that brave and 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 169 

buoyant heart is to bow ; that agile form is to 
fail ; those large lustrous eyes are to weep. 
His gifted sons are removed to the Cemetery ; 
disease smites his own frame. Consumption, 
that fearful scourge, which bore away his noble 
boys, stands at his own door. Hear him 
under these trials : " We can glorify our 
Lord more by a quiet submissive spirit under 
suffering than in any other way. 'For I reckon 
that the sufferings of this present time, are not 
worthy to be compared with the glory that shall 
be revealed in us.' " 

The Red Sulphur Springs, and the milder 
airs of the southern seaside were sought in 
vain. At the comparatively early age of fifty- 
three he came home, and calmly composed him- 
self to die. A few hours before his death, a 
friend said to him: "Brother Crane, in looking 
over your past life, do you see anything in its 
general course that you would change if you 
could?" Remaining silent for a few moments, 
and then raising his head, he replied: "As to 
its main current, no /" A noble confession in 
the honest hour of death. Breathing a blessing 
upon his faithful wife and only child — a lad of 
twelve years — and whispering after paroxysms 
of pain, "Kind friends; kind Redeemer, I can 

15* 



I 70 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

trust him; Come, Lord Jesus," he gently 
passed to the better land, in March, 1856. 
Never have I seen, on any similar occasion, a 
larger or more sorrowful assembly than the one 
gathered within these walls, on that early spring 
evening, to do honor to the memory of this 
noble man. Business circles sent their repre- 
sentatives, and ministers of all persuasions were 
here to mingle their tears with those of his 
family and brethren. His pastor, Dr. Burrows, 
from whose excellent memoir of him much of 
this sketch is compiled, preached a touching 
discourse from the fitting words: "Thou shalt 
be missed, because thy seat will be empty," 1 
Samuel 20: 18. Aye, he was missed. " Blessed 
are the dead who die in the Lord, for they rest 
from their labors, and their works do follow 
them." 

Rev. Dr. M. D. Hoge, of the Presbyterian 
Church, an inmate with him of the same house, 
said: "Seldom have I witnessed such a life, and 
such a death-bed scene." Yes, dear brother, 
thou art missed * * but thou art not missed 
from the ransomed in heaven. Thou boldest a 
place there which never can be empty. 

The late Rev. Dr. George Woodbrido-e, of the 
Episcopal Church, said: "Yesterday, when I 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 171 

heard of his death, I felt much as a soldier feels 
on the field of battle, who turns to find a be- 
loved comrade fallen." 

Our own lamented and revered Rev. Rich- 
ard Fuller,* D. D., closed a letter of just 
eulogy of him, with the words : " Let me die 
the death of the righteous, and let my last 
end be like his." Literally, was the petition 
granted. Both now " walk in white, for they 
were worthy." 

Than Reins, Sizer, Thomas, and Crane, four 
men can scarcely be found who combined in 
their characters traits more dissimilar and diver- 
gent. Reins was more rapid and resolute in 
will than either of his three -compeers. Than 
either, he was better fitted to be the leader of 
a forlorn hope, or to brave the perils of an exi- 
gency. For patient tenderness, prudent pro- 
cedure, and kind conciliation, Sizer excelled 
them all. In clear judgment, deep penetration, 
and inflexible firmness, Thomas surpassed Reins 
and Sizer, and was the equal of Crane. In 
Crane was happily embraced, in almost exact 
equipoise, the rushing energy of Reins, the calm 
composure of Sizer, and the stern stability of 
Thomas. The aim and effort of each was the 
advancement of Christ's Kingdom and the hon- 



I 72 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 

ored growth of the Church of which they were 
members. Thus does God graciously give to 
his Church men with "diversities of gifts, but 
the same spirit." 



HISTORY OF THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 



BY 

C. WALTHALL. 



HISTORY OF THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL. 



THE time when the Sunday-school of the 
First Baptist Church began is not definitely 
known. From the best information ob- 
tainable, it started in or about 1817. It is said 
that the school commenced with four teachers 
and six scholars. This seems probable. The 
number at first, was certainly very small. 

Accepting as true the statement that it com- 
menced with four teachers, it becomes a matter 
of interest to learn who they were. The writer 
thinks the honor of this precedence may be 
safely given to Mrs. Frances Greenhow, Mrs. 
Maria O. Marshall, Miss Virginia Ratcliffe and 
Miss Jane C. Charlton. Who the scholars 
were he cannot say. Other teachers entered 
the school soon after. Among these may be 
named : Miss Rebecca Williams, Miss Mary 
Nelson, Miss Sarah Ross, and Miss Sarah Hill- 
yard, Philip Spare, and William Dabney. Of 
the scholars who were in the school, at an 

175 



I 76 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

early period, may be mentioned : Miss Martha 
F. Nowell, Misses Elizabeth and Susan Coghill, 
Miss Jane Daniel, Miss Sarah Grant. Of the 
four teachers first mentioned, it may be re- 
marked briefly : Mrs. Greenhow continued, an 
active member of the Church, till June, 1828, 
when she transferred her membership to the 
Second Church ; Mrs. Marshall became the 
wife of Mr. George Roper, and united with 
others in the formation of the Second Church, 
in 1820; Miss Virginia Ratcliffe, whose life is 
fragrant to this day in the memory of the older 
members, remained single during life, was con- 
spicuously pious and devoted, and after a long 
and useful life, in the service of the Master, in 
connection with this Church, went to her reward 
in 1852; Miss Charlton, became the wife of 
Rev. Henry Keeling, and assisted him in the 
conduct of a school, which he taught for some 
years in Richmond. Mrs. Keeling was noted 
for intelligence, piety, gentility of manner, and 
scrupulous neatness in her person. She was 
a teacher in the school at a later period than 
either of the others. She died in i860. 

Herbert C. Thomson, in whose school-room 
the Sunday-school seems to have started, was 
the first Superintendent. 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. \ 77 

In addition to superintending the school, Mr. 
Thomson led the music of the Church and filled 
the office of Church Clerk till 1820, when he, 
with fourteen other members, was dismissed to 
form the Second Church, of which he was made 
Clerk. He seems to have been admirably 
suited for the office — his chirography was uni- 
form and neat, and his composition was good. 
After some time of active service in the Second 
Church, Mr. Thomson, being impressed that it 
was his duty to preach the gospel, was, after 
trial of his gifts, licensed in 1823, and in Febru- 
ary, 1828, he was regularly ordained. Soon 
thereafter, he removed from the city and, no- 
thing is known of his subsequent life. 

Who immediately succeeded Mr. Thomson 
as Superintendent, is not certainly known. 
The Church Records from the time he left to 
January, 1825, being lost, no information can be 
gotten from that source, of what took place in 
the Sunday-school during the intervening four 
years. From those preserved, it appears that 
the Church took action in regard to the Sunday- 
school at various times down to 1829, as follows: 

In May, 1827, Miss Virginia Ratcliffe and 
Miss Betsey Philips were appointed teachers in 
the Sunday-school. 



I 78 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

In June, 1827, Mr. Joseph Woodson was 
appointed Assistant Superintendent, in place of 
John G. Davis, resigned. 

In the same month, Mr. James Sizer was 
appointed Assistant Superintendent, and three 
persons, Johnson, Laneve and Frost were 
appointed teachers. 

In September, 1827, N. H. Davis and James 
Thomas were appointed teachers. 

In June, 1828, the Church appointed a com- 
mittee to act in concert with the Richmond and 
Manchester Sunday-School Union in the cele- 
bration of the day of National Independence. 

In May, 1829, the Superintendent was di- 
rected to report to the Church the condition of 
the Sunday-school and suggest such improve- 
ments as he might think necessary for the fur- 
ther success of the institution. 

In June following, 1829, Mr. Joseph Wood- 
son resigned as Superintendent. He must 
have at some prior time been promoted from 
Assistant to Principal. Mr. Sizer, heretofore 
mentioned as an officer of the school, was also 
an officer of the Church, and will be noticed as 
such by another. 

The other two, Davis and Woodson, were 
among the number who went out from the 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 



179 



Church in 1832 to form what is now known as 
the Seventh Street Christian Church. To that 
Church, we leave the duty of finishing their 
record, when it comes to celebrate its half-cen- 
tennial, which they propose to do. 

On accepting Woodson's resignation, in 
June, 1829, the Church adopted the following: 

"Resolved, That we as a Church do now with- 
draw all connection from the Sabbath-school so 
as to give place for the formation of a society 
to which the whole management of the school 
is referred." 

A Committee was appointed to settle the 
Treasurer's account. 

This seems to be an entire abandonment by 
the Church of the policy which had governed 
it from its first recognition of the school, which 
some have said was in 1816. But the old 
mother seemed to entertain some regard for 
her cast-off child ; for she allowed, on two occa- 
sions thereafter, collections to be taken in the 
Church in aid of the school. Let us not 
harshly judge her, but wait to see if she does 
not right herself as she pursues her way. 

The next known Superintendent was Mr. 
Archibald Thomas. When and how he was 
chosen does not appear. In view of the action 



I SO CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

of the Church just recited, he must have been 
appointed by the school, and probably very 
soon after that action was taken. If so, he 
was the immediate successor of Woodson, in 
1829. 

During Mr. Thomas' term of service, two 
young men, Joseph S. Walthall and John O. 
Turpin, entered upon a course of study pre- 
paratory to the gospel ministry. On the resig- 
nation of Mr. Thomas, in 1832 or 1833, Richard 
N. Herndon and Joseph S. Walthall, then at 
the Seminary on the Brook Pike, jointly super- 
intended the school, during one session of the 
Seminary, and until they left for other fields of 
labor. 

The school w r as now left almost entirely in 
the hands of those who had just before come 
into the Church. The choice of a Superinten- 
dent fell on the writer. Being unanimously 
called, and relying on the hearty co-operation 
of those around him whom he knew to be 
zealous and devoted, he ventured, in humble 
trust in God, to undertake the office. He con- 
tinued in that service till 1841. The school 
was held, where it had been for a number of 
years before, in the basement under the east 
wing of the old house of worship. Contracted 



CELEBRA TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 1 8 I 

and otherwise unsuitable, this place could not 
well accommodate more than sixty or seventy 
pupils. The average attendance of scholars, 
during- the whole time the school met in this 
place, ranged from fifty to sixty. Under very 
propitious circumstances, eighty to one hundred 
occasionally attended. A few months before 
the close of this officer's term, viz., in May, 
1 841, the school was transferred to the base- 
ment of the new house of worship. During his 
term also occurred several interesting events. 
Miss Henrietta Hall, a teacher, who became 
the wife of Rev. J. L. Shuck, Robert Daven- 
port, and Samuel C. Clopton went out from the 
school, as missionaries to the heathen; and Wm. 
M. Gaskins, J. G. Councill and A. P. Repiton 
gave themselves to the work of the ministry. 

To one other thing that occurred during this 
time special attention is called. In April, 1834, 
the Church adopted the following: 

"Resolved, that George W. Atkinson, H.J. 
Crawford, J. L. Apperson, Elijah Johnson, 
Robert H. Bosher, W. P. Mann, Geo. L. Wright, 
L. D. Walker and C. Walthall be appointed a 
committee to conduct the Sabbath-school con- 
nected with the Church ; that they be em- 
powered to chose their own officers, to add to 

16* 



I 82 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

their number, from time to time, such others as 
may be necessary ; and that they make a report 
of their proceedings and the state of the 
School annually to the Church." 

In 1 841, C. Walthall resigned the Superin- 
tendency, in order that the School might avail 
itself of the services of Mr. James C. Crane, 
who was at the time a teacher in the School, and 
whose superior qualifications were universally 
recognized. He was elected to the office. 
Under Mr. Crane's management the School had 
the advantage of the removal of the Church to 
its new house. The attendance of scholars 
averaged about two hundred and fifty during 
his term of six years. 

A. H. Sands, V. A. Gaskill and P. S. Henson 
became preachers. 

In 1847, Mr. Crane resigned, and Mr. James 
Thomas, Jr., was elected as his successor. Mr. 
Thomas' term of about nineteen years was an 
eventful one, embracing as it did the whole 
period of the late civil war. For several years 
after Mr. Thomas took charge, there was no 
very material change in the attendance. After- 
wards it reached a height of prosperity never 
before attained by this or any other School of 
the city. Over five hundred pupils were some- 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. I 83 

times present. J. Hume, Jr., Geo. Wm. Keesee, 
Wm. H. Williams, W. S. Ryland, Lansing Bur- 
rows, and the Superintendent's own son, W. D. 
Thomas, went from the School to preach. 
When the war came on, or soon after, Mr. 
Thomas moved from the city and was seldom 
present during the war. 

The school, like other enterprises of the day, 
felt the withering effects of that exciting period, 
and became much demoralized. It was kept 
up as best it could be under such circum- 
stances. Mr. R. H. Bosher, who was Mr. 
Thomas' Assistant, had charge during this time 
and till 1866, when he was elected the succes- 
sor of Mr. Thomas. 

Under Mr. Bosher's superintendency the 
school regained its former standing and main- 
tained, through his tenure of office, a steady, 
healthy condition. During that time two young 
men, W. O. Thomas and H. A. Tupper, Jr., 
went out as candidates for the ministry. 

Mr. Bosher's official relations to the school 
terminated, January, 1878, when Mr. Wm. 
Miles Turpin, the present incumbent, was 
elected Superintendent. As Mr. Turpin has 
yet to make, in part at least, his record, we 
only express our ardent desire that it may be 



184 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

a bright one — exceeding in good fruitage that 
of his predecessors. In one respect he occu- 
pies a peculiar position. When the next cen- 
tennial history of the School is written, his 
name will stand at the close of the one century 
and at the beginning of the other. 

This suggests that all of us who are en- 
gaged in this work should remember that we 
commence to-day to make the second cen- 
tury's history. Let every one see to it that 
the foundation is well laid. 



JETER MEMORIAL 



PAPER 
By J. L. M. CURRY. 

ADDRESSES 
By J. B. HAWTHORNE and WM. E. HATCHER. 



RELATION OF THE CHURCH TO EDUCATION. 

By J. L. M. CURRY. 



The undersigned, appointed to collect facts 
in reference to the connection of the First 
Church with the cause of education, regrets 
that all efforts made by him have been nearly 
fruitless. 

The minutes of the General Association show 
that in 1833 Elder John Kerr, the Pastor of this 
Church, was the President of the Virginia Bap- 
tist Education Society, out of which grew the 
Seminary, and afterwards Richmond College. 
In 1833, the Treasurer and five of the Man- 
agers of this Society were members of this 
Church. Ever since, the Education Board has 
had representatives from this Church, and has 
received generous contributions. Richmond 
College, in its Trustees and Faculty, has de- 
pended somewhat on the Church. Every effort 
made to endow the College has received efficient 
help from our membership, and now this is the 

187 



I 88 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. . 

only Church in the State which has a scholar- 
ship in the College for the education of the sons 
of Baptist ministers. 

Richmond Female Institute, throughout its 
entire history, . has found in the First Church 
zealous and liberal friends and patrons, as well 
as Trustees and Teachers. 

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary 
has from its origin been also the constant re- 
cipient of First Church benefactions in its efforts 
for endowment, as well as in special efforts for 
the support of students and Faculty. 

This Church has steadily recognized that the 
gospel was intended to vitalize and mould every 
energy and form of human activity, so that 
man's whole being may be brought into thor- 
ough accord with the will of God. For Chris- 
tianizing society, a most important place must 
be assigned to education. The impulse, spon- 
taneous and general and honorable, to com- 
memorate in some permanent manner the life 
and services of Dr. Jeter, took, after earnest 
consultation, the form of completing the Rich- 
mond College building and having therein a 
"Jeter Memorial Hall," in which should be de- 
posited, along with his bust or picture, the 
books and manuscripts which Dr. Jeter, in his 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. I 89 

will, bequeathed to the College. The First 
Church must feel a double interest in such an 
enterprise. The College has been a special 
favorite with the Church, and in 1872 she gave 
up her Pastor to carry on the great memorial 
enterprise. Dr. Jeter, for many years, was our 
Pastor, and no Church can cherish a livelier or 
more grateful recollection of his laborious and 
holy ministry. The First Church can, there- 
fore, most feelingly unite with the Baptists of 
Virginia in doing, in the manner proposed, 
proper honor to one so closely connected with 
her history. We can also, in celebrating our 
centennial, set up our Ebenezer by doing some- 
thing permanently beneficent in our Master's 
cause. 

The Church can well join sister churches, 
and thus broaden sympathies and bring the 
brotherhood into closer fellowship and sym- 
pathy. 

J. L. M. Curry, 

Committee. 



17 



ADDRESS. 

By J. B. HAWTHORNE. 



Nothing is more commendable than the re- 
spect and veneration which mankind have for 
the old. In the earlier and purer days of the 
Greek Republic, when an old man entered a 
crowded assembly, men of every rank and sta- 
tion rose to do him reverence. The proudest 
tree that lifts its leafy head above us awakens 
no such emotions in our breasts as those which 
we experience in looking upon the ivy-mantled 
trunk of an old withered and wasted oak. 

Looking back, to-day, over the history of a 
Church festooned with the associations of a 
hundred years, our hearts throb with feelings 
far more profound and sacred than those which 
are excited when we survey the gilded gran- 
deur of some modern institution. 

We are old : but we have not called you toge- 
ther to tax your sympathy for something that is 
tottering under the infirmities and burdens of 
190 



CELEBRA TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR V. I 9 I 

age. We do not call upon you to help us to 
conceal the ravages of time — to do for us what 
the tender ivy does, when she flings a green 
and glossy mantle over a crumbling ruin. 

No. The youngest thing in Richmond to-day 
is this venerable Mother of Churches. She is 
surrounded by a family of healthy, vigorous, and 
accomplished daughters, of whom she is duly 
proud ; but in buoyancy, hopefulness, energy, 
and enterprise — in everything that constitutes 
beauty, strength, and progress, she is more than 
a match for the best of them. She is old only 
in years. There is not a wrinkle upon her 
face, nor a silver thread among the gold. In 
no respect has she declined. I trust that her 
response, to-night, to the calls of a noble enter- 
prise, will demonstrate that she retains both the 
ability and the disposition to do great things 
for God and the world. 

We have had laid before us to-day, in the 
able papers read by Drs. Burrows and Thomas, 
the work which our fathers accomplished. We 
have entered into their labors. We are born to 
an inheritance bequeathed to us by their toils 
and tears. We, who now live, are heirs of all 
the ages that have preceded ours. Nothing 
shows more clearly man's superiority to the 



I92 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

brutes than his ability to profit by the experi- 
ence and wisdom of those who have gone 
before him. In studying the history and the 
habits of the various animals around us, we 
are impressed with the fact that they have made 
no improvement. The bee builds honey-comb 
to-day, just as his ancestors in the wilderness 
of Judea built two thousand years ago. The 
eagle of to-day is no wiser than his progenitors 
who made their nests among the Cedars of 
Lebanon. The beavers construct their dams 
just as they made them ages ago. Instinct 
makes no progress. But intelligence grows. 
The wisdom of the past accumulates for men 
into a capital for the present, and the thoughts 
of one generation pass into and fructify in 
the next. 

This great earth, on which we stand to-day, 
surrounded by so many objects that please the 
eye, and delight the soul, was brought to its 
present state through different creative periods, 
each embracing millions of years. Stratum 
was laid upon stratum, creation was added to 
creation, until God looked out from the hea- 
vens and pronounced it good, complete. Just 
so it has been with the successive generations 
of men. They have not been simply repeti- 



CELEB R A TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 



193 



tions of each other, like the generations of the 
lower animals ; but each as it has passed away 
has left some new stratum of knowledge, wis- 
dom, and experience to be added as its instal- 
ment to the patrimony of the race. We are 
wiser and richer than our fathers, because we 
come after them, and inherit their wisdom and 
wealth. 

"We walk abroad and gather as our own, 

The precious harvests which the dead have sown." 

The secrets which Galileo discovered when 
he turned his rude telescope to the heavens, 
and the laws which Newton so ably expounded, 
are elementary principles in our education. 
The progress of learning since their day has 
placed us in possession of a world of know- 
ledge, of which they never dreamd. 

Who doubts that the Church of the Lord 
Jesus is richer to-day than it was a hundred 
years ago ! By all that was accomplished by 
such men as the Wesleys, Whitefield, Carey, 
and Judson; by all that was ripe in the wisdom, 
grand in the eloquence, and noble in the lives 
of such men as Thornwell, Frederick W. 
Robertson, Francis Wayland, and Richard 
Fuller ; by all the victories that have been won 

17* 



194 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

for Christ in battles with pagan superstition 
and infidel philosophy, the Church is richer, 
stronger, and better equipped for holy warfare 
to-day than it was a century ago. 

" I have sent you to reap that whereon you 
bestowed no labor." That is our position. 
We stand in the midst of a harvest prepared 
for us by the toils of other men. We have 
entered into other men's labors. We are build- 
ing on foundations which our fathers laid, and 
with a thousand helps and advantages which 
they never possessed. The practical question 
before us to-night, the question which I pray 
God to lay upon the conscience of every mem- 
ber of this Church, is, what will you do with 
this legacy? What will you do with the results 
of a hundred years of faith, and prayer, and 
sacrifice, and toil ? Will you improve them and 
add to them, so that you shall leave them to 
those who come after you, enlarged and en- 
riched by some new deposit of your own ? or 
will you sit down in idleness and see them waste 
away and perish ? 

It has grown into a proverb. "The boy who 
begins his fortune where his father left off, will 
end where his father began." As a rule, in- 
herited wealth is a title deed to sloth. Many a 



CELEBRA TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 195 

Church has begun a downward career at the 
point when she felt that she was " rich and in- 
creased in goods, and in need of nothing." No 
young man will succeed in any trade or profes- 
sion who aims at being simply a repetition of 
his father. His father ran a lumber-mill with 
horse-power and succeeded, grew rich ; but let 
him attempt it in this day of progress and how 
signal will be his failure ! His father learned 
music by a system of patent notes. Let him 
begin according to the same method, and how 
inglorious will be his career. Ministers and 
Churches must work in harmony with the spirit 
and wants of the age in which they live. David 
served his generation by unifying and extend- 
ing his kingdom, and by collecting treasure for 
the building of the Temple. If Solomon had 
attempted to do just what his father did, no 
progress would have been made. But he 
entered into his father's labors : he took up his 
father's plan for the building of the Temple, 
and pursued it to a glorious consummation. 

The age in which we live has problems of its 
own — problems which differ from those of every 
previous age — and we must solve them, and 
thus improve upon the wisdom of the past. 
The truths of the gospel are immutable, but the 



I96 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

methods of presenting them must change to 
keep up with the progress of thought and taste. 
The men who centuries ago stood at the very 
pinnacle of pulpit power and renown, would 
hardly be listened to to-day. The men and 
women who made the first fifty years of this 
Church's history were noble spirits. In their 
own peculiar way they wrought wonders. They 
built honestly and solidly. But if we were to 
attempt a repetition of their methods, we should 
utterly fail to compass the work which we are 
expected to do. A more eloquent man than 
John Kerr never stood before a Richmond audi- 
ence. He was the " eagle of pulpit-eloquence." 
Many moons will wax and wane before Virginia 
will produce his equal. But his was eloquence 
born of peculiar circumstances, that have long 
since passed away. The impetuosity, the wild 
abandon, which gave him such power over the 
multitude, is not the style of speech which ac- 
cords with the spirit and tastes of the audiences 
to which some of his successors have preached. 
What would become of the Sunday-school, if 
we should attempt to conduct it according to 
the fashion of our fathers ? How lon^ would it 
abide the ordeal of long prayers, long chapters, 
long lessons, long metres, and long faces? 



CELEB R A TION OF THE FIRST CEA TENAR Y. igj 

Would it be wise to revive the Church Music 
of fifty years ago ? I can well remember when 
in one of the best of our Southern Churches the 
sermon was usually preceded by the singing 
of "Hark! from the tombs a doleful sound." 
It was sung as a solo by one of the Deacons, 
Avhose voice was as rickety as the sentiment 
was plaintive. When some of our fathers were 
children the violin, the flute, and the bagpipe 
did the work which is now performed by the 
organ. A country pastor, occupying for the 
first time the pulpit of a city Church, in which 
such music was in vogue, made the disastrous 
mistake of asking the choir to " fiddle and blow 
the opening hymn." 

Not to reproduce the past, but to develop, 
out of all that is good and noble in it, results 
that will be of greater value to the world than 
those which our fathers produced — that is the 
duty of the hour — that is the work committed 
to our hands. Let us take all that has come 
down to us from former generations of good 
and faithful men, and adapt it to the needs of 
the day in which our lives are spent. Our 
relation to the generation that shall come after 
us is just that which our fathers sustained to us. 
They were sowers of seed, and so are we. We 



I98 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

reap the results of their labors, and those who 
follow us will gather the fruits of our faith and 
toils. They live in works which they left behind 
them, and we may project our influence into 
the far future by leaving upon the shores of 
time proofs of our love and loyalty to God. 
The Lord grant that we may leave to posterity 
as rich a heritage as has been left to us. 

Standing here upon the threshold of another 
century of our Church's life, let us look about 
us and see what new enterprise we can under- 
take by which we may send our benediction 
down to those who shall write our history and 
celebrate our worth ? We propose to make 
this occasion the inauguration of such an enter- 
prise. What shall it be ? Already you have 
answered that question. With great unanimity 
you have said, " The completion of the Rich- 
mond College building." You have decided to 
erect the other wing, and to dedicate it to the 
memory of the man to whom both Church and 
College are more indebted than to any other 
man living or dead. 

A few months ago the sad tidings went out 
to the country that J. B. Jeter was dead. Deep 
was our grief, loud were our lamentations. 
While we were yet weeping over our great 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. I 99 

loss the demand was heard from every quarter 
— " Let his monument be built, and his epitaph 
be written "! The sentiment was universal, that 
the Baptists of Virginia ought to erect some 
memorial of the beautiful virtues and noble 
deeds that made his life a light to the world. 
Nothing seems to be more in harmony with 
the " eternal fitness of things," than that this 
Church, in which the prime of his manhood 
was spent, and where the brightest results of 
his ministry were realized, should take the lead 
of any movement to honor his name and per- 
petuate the memory of his worth. 

Out of the very bosom of the blackness 
which the infidelity of this age has gathered 
about our blessed religion, " shines the light of 
holy lives, like star-beams over doubt." Among 
the number whose holy living have demon- 
strated the divinity of our faith, there is no one 
more worthy of mention than the man to whom 
this monument will be built. Phidias proposed 
to make a statue of Alexander out of Mount 
Athos, holding in one hand a beautiful river, 
and in the other a magnificent city. The reali- 
zation of his conception would have been the 
supreme triumph of art. Such was the tribute 
of which the great sculptor felt his hero worthy. 



200 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

A hero he was; but how inglorious his end! 
After he had climbed the dizzy heights of his 
ambition, and looked down upon a conquered 
world, he died in the midst of a shameful de- 
bauch. He was monarch of all things but 
himself. There is a little world within man's 
own bosom in which he may rise or fall. 
" There is an inward government of the 
thoughts and passions, which is an object of 
loftier ambition, than the possession of any 
earthly crown or sceptre." He who governs 
himself is the only real potentate. Such was 
the man whose name we propose to honor. 
In the presence of any temptation ; under the 
pressure of any trial ; in the midst of the most 
exciting scenes,— he was master of himself. 
He was ambitious, but he never suffered ambi- 
tion to take him one inch beyond what he be- 
lieved to be the line of truth, rectitude, and 
honor. He was passionate, but over all feeling 
his great will was supreme. As the rod of 
Moses swallowed up all the symbols of Egyp- 
tian wizardry, so did Dr. Jeter s purpose to do 
right consume every meaner motive and un- 
lawful desire. 

It was a custom among the Romans to place 
the busts of their distinguished ancestors in the 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 201 

vestibules of their houses, so that they might 
be continually reminded of their virtues and 
renown. History records the name of many a 
great Roman who had descended from families 
in which this custom was observed. Let us 
build a monument that shall keep green in the 
memories of our children and our children's 
children, the virtues of a man who was nobler 
than the noblest Roman. 

Dr. Jeter was zealous and steadfast in his 
support of the cause of education. No man 
ever had a more just appreciation of the ad- 
vantages of education to the individual, the 
community, and the nation. He believed that 
the school-master, armed with his primer, was 
doing more than the soldier to uphold and ex- 
tend the liberties of his country. He was en- 
thusiastic in his devotion to Richmond College. 
He presided at its birth. He watched over it 
through all the stages and struggles of its sub- 
sequent career. He prayed for it; he wrote for 
it; he pleaded for it; and he gave to it of his 
means to the very limit of his ability. He was 
the unflinching friend of every man who occu- 
pied a chair in its Faculty, and of every student 
who came there for instruction. The welfare 
of that Institution was among the last subjects 
18 



202 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

that engaged his thoughts upon a dying bed. 
It is said that Livingstone was found dead upon 
his knees. In that posture he breathed to 
heaven his last prayer for benighted Africa. It 
would be substantially true to say that Dr. 
Jeter died praying for Richmond College. 

How, then, can we honor his name in a man- 
ner that will more beautifully harmonize with 
the spirit, character, and history of the man, 
than by making his monument a part of the 
Institution he loved so well, and for which he 
labored so faithfully ? To erect the other wing 
of the building and call it the "Jeter Wing;" to 
set apart a spacious hall in that wing and call 
it "The Jeter Memorial Hall;" to place within 
this hall his library and manuscripts, and also 
a life-size portrait of his majestic form, — would 
be a graceful and imposing tribute to his mem- 
ory and a help to the College that would greatly 
increase its influence and patronage. 

To accomplish this object, only twenty-five 
thousand dollars are required. If the Baptists 
of Virginia refuse to contribute this sum, they 
will prove themselves unworthy of the man 
who for more than fifty years bore aloft their 
banner in the ranks of holy war. If the old 
Church over whose head a century has rolled 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 



203 



its suns away should refuse to aid in rendering 
this act of homage to such illustrious worth, let 
her blot out the memory of this day, clothe her- 
self in sackcloth, and sit down in ashes. Let 
her repair to the grave of her once honored 
leader only to weep over the degeneracy of her 
spirit and the departure of her glory. 



ADDRESS 

By W. E. HATCHER. 



MY Beloved Brethren of the First 
Church : — You must not expect from 
me an elaborate address. The late- 
ness of the hour, the richness and eloquence 
of the address which you have just heard from 
your Pastor, and the fact that Dr. Burrows is to 
follow me, requires me to be brief. 

It was understood, I believe, that I would 
speak particularly in regard to the honored 
and lamented Dr. Jeter. To me such a task at 
any time would be most grateful, but happily 
the allusions to this famous man of God, in the 
addresses already made, have been so full, just, 
and beautiful, that but little remains to be 
added. 

It accords with the finest impulses of our 

nature to honor the memory of the great and 

the good. Earth's noblest monuments were 

built in honor of those who, by living, made the 

204 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 205 

world better. It is not too much to say, that 
within our generation no member of our Bap- 
tist brotherhood has passed away who more 
fully commanded respect and affection, than 
Dr. Jeter. Almost every point in his life and 
character touched the popular heart. We 
honor those who have made themselves— who, 
unhelped by fortune, have risen to distinction. 
This man, reared among the bleak hills of Bed- 
ford, in deepest poverty, and without good 
teachers, pushed upwards to the loftiest emi- 
nence. He was not that glaring, eccentric 
thing which shallow men call a genius, but he 
had an imperial mind — a mind so compact, 
vigorous, and clear, that he penetrated what- 
ever he saw, and mastered whatever he touched. 
Do we admire high, unselfish deeds ? For 
sixty years Dr. Jeter labored without stint for 
the good of others. Measured by his work, 
by the souls saved, the saints cheered, the poor 
helped, the wandering reclaimed, and the sor- 
rowing comforted, he well merits the grateful 
applause of his brethren. Of all men that I 
have known, he had the most harmonious, con- 
sistent, and exalted character. His devotion to 
his Saviour was wonderful. It shaped his life 
and fixed his destiny. 

18* 



206 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

It was no surprise, though it was profoundly 
touching to all hearts, when the fact was made 
public that this great historic Church had deter- 
mined to devote her centennial thank-offering 
to the erection of a monument in honor of her 
old Pastor, Dr. Jeter. Not that you would rob 
Christ to exalt a man, but that you would attest 
your zeal for Christ by paying a splendid com- 
pliment to one of his servants. Nor is it less 
creditable to you that you have decided to 
build a monument which, while it honors the 
dead, shall also bless the living. Your memo- 
rial is not to be a polished shaft, not a tower of 
shining brass, not a costly statue, but some- 
thing which will permanently associate his name 
with Christian learning. The conception of a 
Library Hall at Richmond College in memory 
of Dr. Jeter will attest at once your grateful 
recollection of the deceased, and your broad 
and public-spirited interest in higher educa- 
tion. 

It only remains for me to charge you to do 
this work nobly and well. You never before 
occupied a position so conspicuous and majestic 
as that which you hold to-night. If you rise to 
the sublimity of this hour, you will add im- 
measurably to the glory which already crowns 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 207 

your Church ; but if you fail now, her fame will 
be incurably wounded. 

It has long been one of the distinctions of 
your Church that she has been a leader. Wise, 
generous, and vigorous, she has long held the 
lead in great movements. She has often voiced 
the good purposes which struggled for utterance 
in other churches, and often sounded the key- 
note which quickened others into activity. 
From the day that Dr. Jeter died there has 
been a popular clamor for a monument befitting 
his worth and fame. What it should be, and 
how it should be done, were perplexing ques- 
tions. But when this Church spoke, men 
doubted no longer. When it was announced 
that your centennial gifts would be consecrated 
to this purpose, there was at once an assurance 
of success, and a readiness to help. As you 
have taken the front, remember that many eyes 
are upon you. For you to give ignobly will be 
to damage the enterprise which you have volun- 
teered to champion. Failure here will be de- 
spair everywhere. You not only decide to- 
night what you will give, but in no mean 
degree, you suggest what others must give. 

You have been regaled to-day with the 
heroic story of the rise and growth of your 



208 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

Church. What a charming feast you have had ! 
One of your own sons has painted with a 
master's hand, the pure and illustrious men who 
have been your Pastors. You have been re- 
minded of your fathers and mothers, who lived 
in the service, and died in the embrace, of this 
Church. The deep voice of a century has 
spoken to you to-day, testifying to the faithful- 
ness of God's word, and to the burning- zeal of 
those who once constituted this Church. Can 
you resist these thrilling influences? Do they 
not inflame you with an ambition to attempt 
great things ? If you can be stirred to noble 
deeds, it must be now. If these glories and 
festivities cannot lift you to great deeds, then 
you must die without knowing what it is to be 
noble. Standing in the line which parts the 
centuries and enriched by what the past has 
done for you, say what you will do for the 
future ! 

Remember, that you are committed. You 
are advertised for a great performance to-night. 
There is no escape for you. Your programme 
pledges you for a great act. Fail, and the 
world will laugh at your disaster. 

Here hangs the picture of the glorified Jeter. 
You put it here in token of your esteem and 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 



209 



honor. You are to lead the Virginia Baptists 
to-night in a movement to embalm his name. 
Do you work well ; act in a manner worthy of 
the hour and the man, or else strike down his 
picture, and let him be forgotten. 



THE CHURCH IN ITS RELATION 
TO MISSIONS. 

BY 

H. A. TUPPER, 



THE CHURCH IN ITS RELATION 
TO MISSIONS. 



THE missionary history of this Church di- 
vides itself into three periods of some 
thirty-three years each: First, from its 
organization in 1780 to 18 13, when the "Foreign 
Missionary Society of Virginia " was formed in 
this Church; Second, from 181 3 to 1846, when 
the Southern Baptist Convention held its first 
anniversary in this house; Third, from 1846 to 
1880, when this Centenary of the Church — 
missionary in all its career — is celebrated. 

first period: from 1780 to 1 81 3. 

That was missionary discipline when those 
fourteen members of the Boar Swamp Church 
went forth, in 1780, and constituted this Church 
in Franklin's house, on Union Hill; and further 
missionary experience when they set out again 
and erected their humble house of worship on 
Cary Street; and still missionary progress was 
19 213 



214 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

it when they established themselves in the brick 
edifice, on the corner of Broad and College 
Streets; but the most missionary feature of 
these movements was the removal of Joshua 
Morris from Boar Swamp to Richmond, to labor 
for the infant Church, according to the historian 
Benedict, "at his own costs." Dr. Wm. D. 
Thomas says of Morris: "Surely the memory 
of this grand old pioneer missionary and planter 
of evergreen churches deserves to be cherished 
by the child of his youth." And how God 
blessed this missionary zeal of Church and 
Pastor is indicated in the fact that in 1808 the 
Church had grown from fourteen souls to five 
hundred and sixty, with several licensed 
preachers. 

This Church was a prominent member of the 
Dover Association, constituted in 1783, which, 
like other Baptist Associations, was only a mis- 
sionary body. Semple, in his "History of Vir- 
ginia Baptists," published in 18 10, says: " The 
chief business of these Associations was to re- 
ceive petitions and appoint preachers to travel 
into new places where the gospel was likely to 
flourish." The formation itself of such Asso- 
ciations was an evidence of decided missionary 
spirit, inasmuch as it was done in spite of Bap- 



CELEB RA TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 2 I 5 

tist jealousy of church-independence ; which 
jealousy was intensified by hatred to the hier- 
archal domination which had just been over- 
thrown. The blessedness of the gospel sent 
to the destitute is described in an early Circular 
Letter of the Dover Association, in the language 
of Solomon: "As cold water to a thirsty soul, 
so is good news from a far country." A far 
country was Georgia, where our missionaries 
went — as far then as Asia is now. The biog- 
rapher of one of these Evangelists speaks of 
his longing to preach the gospel in that " distant 
land," as he calls the South; and of his preach- 
ing in "various benighted regions; " and how 
this missionary spirit was still honored of the 
Lord appears in the statement of G. B. Taylor, 
that, in 1773, there were three thousand Bap- 
tists in Virginia; and of Benedict, that in 181 2. 
there were thirty-five thousand. This is the 
more remarkable, as the first period of our 
Church's history started and ended in wars with 
Great Britain. Immediately after the "Old 
Revolution " the churches were in a sluggish 
spiritual state; but missionaries were active, 
and the churches stirred themselves, and God 
poured out copious blessings, from the moun- 
tains to the seaboard — reminding the aged 



2 I 6 CELEBRA T10N OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 

people, doubtless, of the tidal waves of salva- 
tion that rolled over the land under the preach- 
ing of that foreign missionary, George White- 
field, and of the home missionaries, Stearns and 
Marshall and Harris, and others. Nor was the 
missionary intelligence and sympathy of our 
fathers less broad and deep than ours. Robert 
B. Semple — who was President of the Baptist 
Convention of Virginia, organized in this 
Church — and men of his stamp were warm and 
able advocates of foreign missions. Abraham 
Marshall, in his sketch of his father Daniel 
Marshall, published in 1802, refers thus to the 
evangelization of the heathen: "The Scrip- 
tures have been translated into several barbar- 
ous languages. Missionaries have gone out 
literally into all the world, and sinners of all de- 
scriptions have fallen by thousands beneath the 
sword of the Spirit, wmich is the word of God." 
The interest that John Courtney, the second 
Pastor of the Church, experienced in this sub- 
ject may be inferred from his own missionary 
spirit, which possessed him to the very end. 
"Even when too old and infirm to dismount 
from his horse," says Dr. Burrows, "he rode, 
cane in hand, from door to door, and calling the 
friends out to him, would encourage, counsel, 



CELEBRA TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 21J 

and exhort them, sometimes closing his inter- 
view with prayer on horseback in the street." 
This interest is also implied in the tribute voted 
to him in this Church by the Baptist Convention 
of Virginia, organized with special reference to 
Foreign Missions : — 

"Resolved, unanimously \ That this Convention 
cherish an affectionate remembrance of their 
lately deceased brother, Elder John Courtney > 
whose praise, as a laborer in the work of the 
Lord, is in all the churches. He has come to 
his grave as a shock of corn fully ripe." 

The Church was ready for the visit of the re- 
turned missionary, Luther Rice, and the "For- 
eign Missionary Society of Virginia " was 
organized here in 1813 — the year before the 
organization of the Triennial Convention. The 
testimony is indubitable that this Society was 
organized in 181 3. At the Semi-Centennial 
"Jubilee" of the American Baptist Missionary 
Union, held in Philadelphia in 1864, Deacon 
William Crane, who was a member of this 
Church from 181 2 to 1821, said that he assisted 
to organize this Society "in November, 181 3." 
He was one of its original managers. J. B. 
Taylor, in his "Virginia Baptist Ministers," 

states that Samuel L. Straughan was sent by 

19* 



2 I 8 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR K 

this Society as their missionary to Maryland, in 
1814. But the point is put beyond all question. 

The Fortieth Annual Report of the Society, 
made in 1853, opens with these words : " Forty 
years have passed,' that is from 181 3, "since 
this Society came into existence. It was found- 
ed shortly after the return from India of our 
esteemed Brother Rice, and was among the first 
of those organizations which were represented 
in the Triennial Convention." Thus had this 
Church the honor of the organization, under its 
auspices, of the first Missionary Society of the 
South. William Crane said, " Perhaps south of 
Philadelphia." 

The only remark I make on this first period 
of the Church's missionary history is that, being 
thus early called of God to the work of mis- 
sions, the Church should manifest its apprecia- 
tion of the honor, and its realization of its re- 
sponsibility, by its perseverance and progress 
to the end. "The path of the just is as the shi- 
ning light that shineth more and more unto the 
perfect day." 

SECOND PERIOD: FROM 1813 TO 1846. 
LUTHER RICE. 

It would be strange if the enthusiasm on For- 
eign Missions, which was kindled by the return 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 21 Q. 

to this country of Luther Rice, and which 
swept like a sea of fire from Maine to Georgia, 
had not inflamed the First Baptist Church of 
Richmond. This place Mr. Rice called one of 
his three "homes;" and a home indeed did he 
find here under the hospitable roof of Archibald 
Thomas, and in the heart of the whole Church, 
whose funds were sometimes represented in the 
General Convention by this most eloquent 
advocate for the world's evangelization that 
America has ever produced. 

THE FEMALE MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 

On the last Sunday in March, 1817, Luther 
Rice preached the Anniversary Sermon of this 
Society. It must have existed at least a year 
before. The probabilities of its formation not 
long subsequent to Mr. Rice's first visit to Rich- 
mond, in 181 3, is suggested by the fact, that, 
between 18 16 and 181 7, the Society was so 
strong that it contributed to Foreign Missions 
some five hundred dollars — only eighty or ninety 
of which was given under the persuasive elo- 
quence of Mr. Rice's discourse. 

Mrs. Archibald Thomas, lately fallen on sleep, 
was one of the early Treasurers of the Society. 



2 20 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

In 1834, it was commended to the Dover Asso- 
ciation by the Church as "increasing in efforts." 

In 1836, it sent a delegate to the General 
Convention, having raised the year previous 
$314.83 — of which $138.74 was for the outfit of 
the missionaries Shuck and Davenport. The 
next year, the Society gave $272.66; and in 
1838, $418.89. 

In 1846, the Society organized under the 
Southern Baptist Convention, and adopted as 
their missionary the Chinese convert, Yong Seen 
Sang, who was in this country with J. L. Shuck, 
and addressed the Society on the occasion. 
Since that day, this man of God, than whom 
there is no nobler Chinaman on our planet, has 
been sustained by this Society, as one greater 
than he was supported by honorable women of 
his day. 

In thirty-eight years, the Society donated 
$6550. If the annual average, $172, be applied 
to the sixty-five years of its existence, the con- 
tributions of the Society to Foreign Missions 
will aggregate $11,180. 

To avoid further reference to this Society, 
its officers, since its organization under the 
Southern Baptist Convention, may be here 
recorded : 



CELEB R A TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 2 21 

Presidents : Mrs. Josephine Ryland, Mrs. 
Edward Kingsford, Mrs. Matilda Walthall, Mrs. 
A. G. Wortham, Mrs. Martha A. Page, Mrs. 
H. A. Tupper. 

Vice-Presidents : Mrs. J. L. Burrows, Mrs. 
James Thomas, Jr. 

Treasurer: Mrs. Archibald Thomas, Miss S. 
Pearce, Mrs. Coleman Wortham. 

Secretaries : Miss Jane Reins, Miss S. Ligon, 
Mrs. Callie T. Ryland, Mrs. C. T. Knight. 

Three of these ladies died while in office — 
Mrs. Josephine Ryland, Mrs. Callie T. Ryland, 
and Mrs. J. L. Burrows. Their memory is 
embalmed by the Society in touching and beau- 
tiful tributes. 

RICHMOND AFRICAN BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 

In his Memoir of James C. Crane, Dr. Bur- 
rows says of this man of God: "He was es- 
pecially interested in the Mission to Africa. 
Mainly through the influence of his brother and 
himself, Lott Carey and Colin Teage, the first 
Baptist missionaries from America to Africa, 
were encouraged, equipped, and designated to 
that important field in 1821. To aid in the 
support of this mission, a Society had been or- 
ganized in 181 5, among the colored members 



22 2 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY.' 

of the Richmond churches, of which Society J. 
C. Crane was, for many years, the Secretary, 
corresponding with the missionaries abroad, 
and communicating with their supporters at 
home. This humble Society he loved to repre- 
sent in public Anniversaries, Associations, and 
Conventions. He was their special delegate 
in the Triennial Convention of 1832, held in 
the city of New York. He continued the earn- 
est friend and liberal supporter of African Mis- 
sions and African Colonization, to the close of 
his life/' 

In a letter before me, dated " Richmond, 
February 2 2d, 1855," William Crane, senior 
brother of James C. Crane, writes: "In looking 
at the original Record Book of the Richmond 
African Baptist Missionary Society I find in the 
hand-writing of Lott Cary * * that it was 
formed the 26th of April, 181 5. * * On 
Easter Monday, 181 7, officers were elected — 
Wm. Crane, President, Colin Teage, Vice- 
President. * * I was, during the years 
181 5, '16, ' 1 7, and '18, engaged, for the benefit 
of the leading colored members of the Church, 
in a gratuitous school at the old Baptist Meet- 
ing House, * * at first in connection with 
Brother David Roper, * * and subsequently 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 



223 



with Rev. John Bryce, Co-pastor of the Church. 
This African Missionary Society collected near 
one hundred dollars per annum, * * and seven 
hundred dollars were expended on the outfit of 
Lott Cary and Colin Teage." William Crane 
states also, that for fifteen or twenty years he 
was President or Secretary of this Society. 

This work of these Crane brothers was honor 
enough for any two men ; and no little honor 
was it to this Church, of which they were 
members. 

THE SEWING CIRCLE. 

This Society is classed in this period, as it 
appears to be the successor of a venerable 
Society, to which an aged and former member 
of this Church makes in writing the following 
reference : " I think it was about this time that 
Mr. Luther Rice made his advent in Richmond. 
The Church was stirred to its depths. * * 
The proceeds of the Sewing Society were de- 
voted to Foreign Missions, and the old ladies 
were constantly employed in knitting socks for 
the missionaries in Burmah." The ladies of 
the present Society will not object to link their 
history with that of the " Sewing Society " of 
these noble mothers in Israel, although the 



2 24 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

organization or re-organization of the <l Sewing 
Circle" belongs strictly to a later period. Their 
official statement is as follows : 

The Sewing Society was organized November 30, 1855. * ts 
object, to provide means for supporting a city missionary. 

Among its principal officers are the names of Mrs. J. L. 
Burrows, Mrs. James Thomas, Mrs. Edwin Wortham, Presi- 
dents ; Mrs. C. Walthall, Mrs. E. W. Warren, and Mrs. J. B. 
Hawthorne, Vice Presidents ; Mrs. Wilson Thomas, Mrs. 
Henry Hudnall, and Mrs. Lewis Frayser, Treasurers ; Miss 
Mary Ella Thomas, Mrs. Samuel Harvey, and Miss Sallie 
Brockenbrough, Secretaries. 

Prior to the war we paid a city missionary from six to seven 
hundred dollars annually. For the past eight years we have 
assisted in the support of the Pastor of Venable-Street Church, 
paying now to that cause two hundred dollars annually. In 
addition to this we make contributions for the clothing of the 
Dorcas children. 

Honorable mention must be made of Mrs. 
Martha A. Page, who is still with us, and of 
Mrs. M. E. Hillyard, who has crossed the 
river. 

It should be added that the city missionary 
referred to above was I. T. Wallace, under 
whose valuable labors the " Fulton Section " 
was organized, which has grown into the Ful- 
ton Church of this city. 

In the early part of the second period there 
was a " Judson Female Missionary Society," for 
the translation of the Scriptures into Burmese. 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 225 

In 1823, Mrs. Ann Haseltine Judson wrote to 
the Society and thanked them for a contribu- 
tion. Whether this was a distinct Society, or 
another form of the Sewing Society or of the 
Female Missionary Society, cannot be now 
ascertained. It is sufficient that the women of 
the Church, from these early dates, have been 
earnestly and variously engaged for the world's 
evangelization. 

CHURCHES FOUNDED. 

Reference has been made to the Fulton 
Church. Sidney was also " a section " of this 
Church. The Venable-Street Church sprang 
from a Sunday-school, under the conduct of our 
brother, Lewis Frayser. The Fourth Church 
was organized, in part, by members of this 
Church, and one of its pastors, Duncan R, 
Campbell, was of this Church. In 1820, mem- 
bers of this Church constituted the Second 
Church, which, for missionary discipline and 
energy, is second to none in the State. In 1854, 
the Leigh-Street Church was organized, mainly 
by members of the First Church, and now it 
is one of the largest white churches in the city. 

In 1845, the First African Church, which is 
one of the three largest churches of the world, 
20 



2 26 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

came out of ours. What centers of missionary 
influence have these churches become ! What 
abundant fruit has been borne by these children 
of the old missionary Mother Church ! 

BAPTIST GENERAL ASSOCIATION OF VIRGINIA. 

George B. Taylor, in his " Virginia Baptists," 
says: "In 1S62, at the First Baptist Church, 
Richmond, the Constitution of the General 
Association was reported, and in 1823 it was 
adopted, and the body was organized under it." 
Henry K. Ellyson, Corresponding Secretary of 
the Association, writes, May 21, 1880: "In read- 
ing just now the address of Rev. James Fife 
at our semi-centennial, I notice that he refers to 
Rev. John Bryce as Pastor of the First Church 
in 1823. If he was, he must be put down as 
one of the founders of the General Association 
from your Church, being one of the delegates 
of 1823." From the file of the Richmond 
Enquirer of 1822, we find that the ministers in 
Richmond at that time were : John Buchanan, 
Richard Channing Moore, John Courtney, John 
H. Rice, David Roper, John Bryce, Wm. H. 
Hart, Peyton Anderson, and Jesse H. Turner. 
Mr. Bryce became Co-pastor of the Church in 
1 810, and resigned finally in 1822. Mr. Ellyson 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 227 

also writes : " It is within my personal know- 
ledge that during the past thirty-three years the 
First Church has been the largest contributor 
to the treasuries of the Boards of the General 
Association and of the societies which were 
merged into the Association in 1855." Thus 
identified with the missionary work of the Gene- 
ral Association, the First Church claims the 
privilege of recording the following statistics of 
the Association, from 1847 to I 88o, furnished 
by the courtesy of its Corresponding Secretary: 
"In the past thirty-three years, we have had from 
fifteen to seventy-two missionaries in the field 
each year, averaging forty a year during all that 
time, not counting the four years of the war, 
when our work was suspended. During that 
time, 35,383 persons professed faith in Christ 
under their ministry; 223 churches and 487 
Sunday-schools were organized by them ; and 
they built 132 houses of worship." 

In 1832, the First Church reported to the 
Association a "Male Missionary Society," and 
at the same time the addition of six hundred 
members, suggesting again that missionary 
labors return in blessings on the laborers, which 
is strikingly exemplified in the history of this 
Church and of the General Association. 



2 28 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

In 1839, the Church reported: "We continue 
to patronize liberally our benevolent institu- 
tions." 

In 1 841, the membership of the Church, white 
and colored, was 2670 souls. . 

In 1823, when the General Association began 
its missionary career, there were 40,000 Baptists 
in this State. 

Since 1845, the State has dispensed for mis- 
sions outside of itself $276,027.37, and now 
there are 202,735 Baptists in the Common- 
wealth. 

The President of the Association, when this 
paper was written, June 1, 1880, was J. L. M. 
Curry, of this Church. 

BAPTIST CONVENTION OF VIRGINIA. 

On Saturday evening, the 25th of December, 
1824, Rice, Staughton, Dagg, and other distin- 
guished gentlemen, met at the house of D. 
Roper, of this city, to confer with regard to the 
organization of the above Convention, as an 
auxiliary of the " General Convention of the 
Baptist Denomination in the United States." 
An invitation to "all friendly to missions" was 
issued to meet on the following Monday at the 
"First Church," where the Constitution was pre- 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 229 

sented and the Convention organized. The 
following officers were elected : 

President — Robert B. Semple. 

Vice-President — H en ry Keeling. 

Corresponding Secretary — David Roper. 

Recording Secretary — George Roper. 

Treasurer — Anthony R. Thornton. 

Other Managers — Madison Walthall, Peter 
Nelson, George Woodfin, Luther Rice, John L. 
Dagg, J. B. Jeter, John B. Valentine. 

A strong address, by R. B. Semple, was pub- 
lished to arouse interest specially in the objects 
of the Triennial Convention. It is worthy of 
note that the Societies to be ancillary to this 
Convention were called " Primary or Mite 
Societies.'' 

VIRGINIA FOREIGN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 

As has been stated, this Society was organ- 
ized here in 1813. It was an enlargement, as 
to objects, upon the General Association of 
1 771, and the General Meeting of Correspond- 
ence of 1800. For many years it was an earn- 
est auxiliary of the Triennial Convention. 

In 1829, the Church happens to record that 
it took a public collection for the Society, but 
this was a common thing; and in 1847 it sent 

20* 



23O CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

twenty delegates to the Society. In 1842, the 
Society urges the churches to observe u the 
Monthly Concert of prayer," at which our 
Church used to collect monthly some thirty or 
forty dollars for missions; and expresses the 
hope that Virginia would some day give ten 
thousand dollars a year to Foreign Missions, and 
the country one hundred and fifty thousand. In 
1876, Virginia gave about that sum, and the 
country gives annually more than twice the one 
hundred and fifty thousand. But let it be said 
to the special honor of this Society that it reit- 
erated the sentiment which I hope this Church 
will never forget, that no amount of money, or 
any other means, would suffice without the gift 
of the Holy Ghost. "Not by might, nor power; 
but by my Spirit, saith the Lord." From 1835 
to 1855, the proceedings of the Society were 
published with those of the General Associa- 
tion, which, in the latter year, incorporated 
Missionary Boards in its Constitution, and the 
Virginia Foreign Missionary Society passed out 
of existence. Here it may be recorded that 
since the extinction of this Society, viz.: from 
1856 to 1880, the contributions of our Church 
through the Missionary Boards of the Associa- 
tion, have been as follows: Home Missions 



CELEBRA TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 



23I 



$2,359.27; State Missions, $7>333-62; Foreign 
Missions, $8,901.74; total, $18,594.63. This 
venerable Society did not expire, however, until 
it had given birth to an institution greater than 
itself. In 1844, after the Board of the Triennial 
Convention had formally announced that it could 
not send any slave-holder into a missionary 
field, this Society issued an address, prepared 
by the then Pastor of this Church, J. B. Jeter, 
calling upon the churches of the South to meet 
in Convention to consider their duty under the 
circumstances. This was the origin of the 
Southern Baptist Convention, which was organ- 
ized in Augusta, Ga., in May, 1845. 

It should be added that members of this 
Church, as Archibald Thomas, James Sizer, and 
Christopher Walthall, were prominent officers 
of the Virginia Foreign Missionary Society, 
through many years of its honorable career. 
This Society should be " marked with a white 
stone." 

TRIENNIAL CONVENTION AND SOUTHERN BAPTIST 
CONVENTION. 

From 181 3 to 1845, tne missionary contribu- 
tions of the Church and its societies went more 
or less directly to the Triennial Convention. 



232 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 



These contributions aggregated some $24,- 
680.82, which was about one-ninth of the sum, 
viz.: $21 5,856.26, given by the South for mis- 
sions. But this Church gave also to the Con- 
vention the wise counsels of such gifted and 
godly men as James C. Crane and Jeremiah B. 
Jeter, who were ever enthusiastic advocates of 
missions. Yet, further, the Church contributed 
several of her noble sons, as Eli Ball and 
Robert Davenport and Samuel C. Clopton, to 
the foreign fields. Other missionaries were set 
apart here, and went forth with the prayerful 
blessing of this Church upon them, which 
blessing returned to the Church in the deep- 
ening and widening of its own missionary 
character. 

After 1845, tne missionary energy and con- 
tributions of the Church found a medium of 
communication with the fields of missions in 
the Southern Baptist Convention. Among the 
organizers of this Convention were these mem- 
bers of this Church: J. B. Jeter, E. Ball, H. 
Keeling, A. Thomas, J. C. Crane. Dr. Jeter 
was made President of the Board of Foreign 
Missions, which position he held for more than 
twenty years, and E. Ball, Vice President for 
Virginia. Archibald Thomas held the office of 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 233 

Treasurer from the origin of the Convention 
until his death, and was succeeded by Edwin 
Wortham and John C. Williams. Charles T. 
Wortham was Auditor from 1845 to I ^>74- Of 
the original members of the Board, in addition 
to those mentioned, the following were from 
this Church: A. B. Smith, R. Ryland, A. G. 
Wortham, H. Keeling, J. Thomas, Jr., W. H. 
Gwathmey, and J. Talman, Sr. Thus was 
started in existence, by the pen of a Pastor of 
this Church, the Southern Baptist Convention, 
which has raised more than a million and a half 
of dollars for missions ; has preached the gos- 
pel in dark places of the South and Southwest, 
and to the Indians and Chinamen of our coun- 
try ; while it has maintained missions in every 
continent of our globe, and been the instru- 
ment in God's hand of inducting thousands, 
if not tens of thousands, into the kingdom of 
heaven. 

In reviewing this second period, " we thank 
God and take courage." 

THIRD PERIOD: 1 846 TO l88o. 

The relation of the Church to missions, in 
this period, may be briefly stated : 



234 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

I. ITS RELATION TO CITY, STATE, AND HOME 
MISSIONS. 

Young Mens Missionary Society. 

This Society was organized May I, 1870. 
Its benevolence has extended to indigent 
children and college students ; to State and 
Foreign Missions ; and specially to a German 
Mission in the city. The amount contributed 
to these objects in ten years is $4,141.93. In 
1878, J . B. Walthall, Chairman of the Prayer 
Meeting Committee of the Society, started a 
prayer meeting in connection with the "Shockoe 
Mission " on Fourth Street, between Jackson 
and Duval Streets. Ashton Starke and J. B. 
Walthall have successively superintended the 
mission since that time. A chapel was erected 
for the mission by J. H. Sands, of our Church. 
The mission is now divided — one part worship- 
ping in the chapel, and the other in a hired 
room. The officers have been : 

Presidents : C. McCarthy, J. B. Hill, F. Tup- 
per, R. B. Lee. 

Treasurer: H. M. Walthall. 

Corresponding Secretaires : R. B. Lee, H. H. 
Watkins, R. S. Bosher, R. F. Patterson. 

Recording Secretaries : C. E. Lacy, H. Bode- 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 235 

ker, R. B. Lee, R. L. Woodward, P. Y. Tupper, 
F. W. Reins. 

In 1833, a "Youth's Missionary Society " is 
reported to the Dover Association. In 1834, 
it was said to be making " increasing efforts." 
In 1836, it was represented in the General As- 
sociation by our no longer youthful brethren, 
J. L. Apperson and Christopher Walthall. It 
is not held that this Society and the Young 
Men's Missionary Society are connected, except 
in respect to the class of persons, and to the 
similarity of the names and objects of the two 
societies. 

Dorcas Society. 

This Society was organized in 1S68. One 
who is deeply interested in the organization 
furnishes the following statement of the object 
and results of the Society: 

The object of the Dorcas Society is to reach poor, ignorant, 
and outcast children ; to clothe them, and bring them into the 
Sunday-school, and thus to put them under the influence of 
the gospel. As to the results of our work, God has allowed us 
to see the fruit of our labor. We have seen the idle and the 
vicious reclaimed ; houses dark with poverty and intemperance 
lighted up with the beauty and the joy of the gospel ; and the 
minds of children so moulded and guided as to give promise 
of abundant usefulness. 

The officers of this Society are the same as 



236 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

those of the ''Sewing Circle;" but the manage- 
ment of the Society is committed to Mrs. Laura 
Rutherford, whom the writer of the above calls 
" our efficient officer." Associated with Mrs. 
Rutherford in this Christly work, are Mrs. 
Josiah Ryland, Miss N. L. Hill, and Miss Jane 
Stanard. 

The Girls Aid Society. 

I cannot afford to add to, or take from, the 
following report from the President of this 
Society, a single word : 

The Girls' Aid Society was organized January 30, 1880, in 
the side chapel of the First Baptist Church. The meeting was 
called to order and the officers elected. Miss America A. 
Johnson was chosen President ; Miss Katie Jude, First Vice- 
President ; Miss Willie Callaham, Second Vice-President ; Miss 
Georgia Burress, Secretary; Miss Mary Sweeney, Treasurer. 
The Society has raised $17.35; °f which ten dollars has been 
given to aid the Dorcas children. So far, the expenses have 
been only one dollar and a half, ninety cents of which was 
spent to buy a basket to put the fancy work in, and the remain- 
ing sixty cents was spent for Record and Account Books. 
Dues are paid to the amount of five cents a month. The So- 
ciety was organized with thirteen members, and now has a 
membership of forty-one. 

May the Society live a hundred years! 

2. THE CHURCH'S RELATION TO FOREIGN MISSIONS. 

The Sunday-school. 
Mrs. M. F. Dabney says, that in the earliest 



CELEBRA TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 237 

days of the school, there was a " Cent Society," 
and each scholar was required to give a penny 
a week to the heathen. I may venture on high 
authority to say, that in the past ten or fifteen 
years the school has averaged some one hun- 
dred dollars per annum for missions. The 
Infant Class has contributed in ten years at least 
five hundred dollars. With such seed-corn 
what a harvest of missionary beneficence may 
be hoped for in the future of the Church ! 

Missionary Society of Richmond Female Insti- 
tute. 

In 1856, a Deacon of this Church, full of the 
spirit of Missions, gave, with his sister, $1,000 
to found a Missionary Society for the young 
ladies of this Institution. A letter to this So- 
ciety from our Missionary, Mrs. T. P. Crawford, 
was probably the means, under God, of leading 
Miss Edmonia Moon to China. Thence, per- 
haps, Miss Lottie Moon; and thence, what end- 
less consequences of good ! May the Society 
revive, and long live, and send other distin- 
guished representatives to their perishing sisters 
of pagan lands ! 
21 



238 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 



Central Committee of Southern Baptist Conven- 
tion ^ and Mite Box Committee of Woman's 
Missionary Society of Richmond. 

This Central Committee was appointed by 
the Board of Foreign Missions, agreeably to an 
action of the Southern Baptist Convention, in 
1878. Mrs. Edwin Wortham, of this Church, 
is the Corresponding Secretary. Some thirty 
or forty societies have been organized in the 
State, under the auspices of the Committee. 
This Committee is identified with the Woman's 
Missionary Society of Richmond, of which 
Mrs. J. B. Jeter has been the only President 
This Society was organized, April 4th, 1872, 
for the support of Miss Edmonia Moon. " Com- 
mittees on Mite Boxes " were appointed for the 
several Baptist Churches of the city. Mrs. 
John A. Belvin was the first Chairman of the 
Committee for the First Church. Mrs. H. A. 
Tupper is the present Chairman. The Com- 
mittee has raised $1,396.40. The first Vice- 
President of the Society was Mrs. J. L. Burrows, 
whose decease was tenderly lamented by the 
Society. Mrs. H. A. Tupper succeeded to the 
office. Mrs. J. K. Connally of this Church, was 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 



239 



the first Corresponding Secretary ; and Mrs. 
J. Temple has been the only Treasurer. Be- 
sides the support of Miss E. Moon, the Society 
donated $700 for the house of Miss L. Moon. 
Recently it has contributed to the support of 
Mrs. Crawford, of Tung Chow. The handsome 
amount raised by the Society is $5,405.57. 

Young Ladies Missionary Society. 

This Society was formed, May 20th, 1875, as 
a sewing society. Its first object was City 
Missions. Aid was afforded to the Venable 
Street Church. Subsequently its energies were 
directed to State Missions. A. Bagby, of West 
Point, and G. Gray, of Craig County, were 
assisted. November 12th, 1878, Miss Sallie 
Stein, missionary to China, was adopted by the 
Society, at a salary of five hundred dollars per 
annum. Before her departure from this 
country, the Society advanced to her $355.94. 
It is proper to state that a missionary society 
of the Macon, (Ga.,) Baptist Church, of which 
our former Pastor, E. W. Warren, is the pastor, 
has contributed fifty dollars to the treasury of 
this Society. The officers have been as follows : 

Presidents — Miss Nettie Pleasants, Miss Sie 
Pleasants, Miss Sallie Knight, Miss Lelia Berry. 



24O CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

Vice-Presidents — Miss Sie Pleasants, Kate 
McCurdy, Lelia Berry, Mary T. Wortham, Ida 
Hill, Annie G. Tupper. 

Treasurers — Mrs. D. O. Davis, Mrs. E. J. 
Bosher, Mrs. Furman Tupper. 

Secretaries — Misses Sophie Bosher and Sallie 
Hundley. 

The amount raised by the Society in five 
years is some twelve hundred dollars. The 
Board of Foreign Missions reported to the 
Southern Baptist Convention, at its past meet- 
ing, that the action of this Society was " heroic." 

Rooms, Officers, Advocates. 

1. The rooms of the Board of Foreign Mis- 
sions were in this house for more than twenty- 
five years. 

2. All the Presidents of that Board, except 
one, and all of its Treasurers, have been of this 
Church. The Recording Secretary, a Deacon 
of this Church, has held his office since 185 1, 
and is the only surviving member of the original 
managers now on the Board. The Correspond- 
ing Secretary, who has just published a history 
of the " Foreign Missions of the Southern Bap- 
tist Convention," is a member of this Church. 
With three exceptions, every officer of the 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 24 1 

Board, from its origin to the present, has been 
of this Church. 

3. Need I say that the Church has numbered 
among its membership some of the warmest 
friends and ablest advocates of Foreign Mis- 
sions ? 

I have referred to Archibald Thomas, James 
C. Crane, James Thomas, Jr., and others not of 
the ministry. Time would fail me to enumerate 
the many more of this class. I have also re- 
ferred, among the Pastors, to Joshua Morris, 
John Courtney, and John Bryce. Only a word 
with regard to the others. Andrew Broaddus 
preached every Annual, or Sunday Sermon, of 
the Dover Association when present, from 
1 797 to 1843, an d significant was his specifying 
men of such renowned missionary character in 
an exclamation of his valedictory address to 
the Rappahannock : " Where are Straughan, 
and Semple, the brother of my soul, and Luther 
Rice ? Where are they ?" Henry Keeling 
was first Vice President of that Foreign Mission 
body, the Baptist Convention of Virginia, and 
was one of the founders of the Southern Bap- 
tist Convention. John Kerr, described by Dr. 
Jeter as " vigorous in his efforts " for missions, 
was chosen, in 1836, by the Baptist Convention 

21* 



242 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

of North Carolina, as the most suitable men to 
preach the funeral sermon of that apostle of 
modern missions, Luther Rice. Of Isaac T. 
Hinton, Dr. Burrows says : " Under his pas- 
torate here, various societies for missionary and 
benevolent purposes were formed ;" and J. B. 
Taylor, " whose life was missions," says he was 
most faithful in proclaiming salvation " to desti- 
tute churches," and in the then missionary field 
of New Orleans, he was in his zeal, " self- 
sacrificing and consuming." J. B. Jeter was 
the soul of our missionary boards, and may be 
called the Father of the Southern Baptist Con- 
vention. What shall I say of Pastors Manly 
and Burrows and Warren ? There are no 
truer friends and abler advocates of this cause, 
as may be said also of the present pastor, J. 
B. Hawthorne, and our absent brother, the 
President of the Foreign Mission Board, J. 
L. M. Curry. 

At the close of this period, we may set up 
our Ebenezer, saying, "Hitherto hath the Lord 
helped us." 

SUMMARY. 

The Church, including Societies and Sunday- 
school, gives annually to missions some thirty- 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 



243 



two hundred dollars. From 181 3 to 1880 the 
contributions for this cause, so far as they appear 
in various records and can be estimated, aggre- 
gate some $60,310.61. But the moral influence 
of the Church, in favor of spreading the gospel, 
has been far greater than its monetary power. 
Born not only from above, but amid the throes 
of the human mind, which brought forth the 
three great forces of modern civilization, viz. : 
government guaranteeing civil and religious 
liberty ; the Sunday-school institution ; and the 
present enterprise of Foreign Missions — the 
Church was expected to embody no little of 
that aggressiveness which is a prime factor in 
the progress of the nineteenth century. The 
expectation has not been disappointed. The 
Church has kept abreast of the missionary 
spirit of the age, in its long race of one hun- 
dred years. But, " Not unto us, O Lord, not 
unto us ; but unto thy name give glory, for thy 
mercy and thy truth's sake." 

WHAT OF THE FUTURE ? 

At the next Centennial Celebration of this 
Church, Foreign Missions will, in all probability, 
be a thing of the past. Our Home Field will 
then be commensurate with our planet. But 



244 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

before this consummation, much labor must be 
performed. At the present rate of our contribu- 
tions, some three thousand dollars per annum, 
our contribution to the world's redemption in 
the one hundred years would be three hundred 
thousand dollars. 

Dr. John A. Broadus says the Baptists of the 
South should give this year to missions a million 
of dollars. What is our proportion ? What 
should be our aggregate reported at the next 
centenary gathering ? " Wherefore, seeing we 
also are compassed about with so great a cloud 
of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and 
the sin that doth so easily beset us, and let us 
run with patience the race that is set before us, 
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of 
our faith." 

Let our unceasing prayer be: "Lord, increase 
our faith ; Lord, grant thy Holy Spirit." And 
in the day of final accounts, may it be said of 
The Old First Baptist Church of Richmond, 
with regard to the execution of the great com- 
mission to God's people: "She hath done 

WHAT SHE COULD." 



ORIGIN AND HISTORY 

OF 

THE FIRST AFRICAN CHURCH 

BY 

ROBERT RYLAND. 



FIRST AFRICAN CHURCH 



ABOUT the year 1838 the First Baptist 
Church of Richmond, then under the 
pastoral care of Rev. J. B. Jeter, deter- 
mined, after mature consultation, to build the 
house of worship, which they now occupy, on 
the corner of Broad and Twelfth Streets. To 
this they were urged by several motives. Their 
old house was becoming too small for the con- 
gregation. It was not situated in an eligible 
place. Its architecture, long the sport of its 
neighbors, was far behind the times. The 
mixed character of the audience, composed of 
white and colored people, was thought to mili- 
tate seriously against the progress of the 
Church. The colored element was so large, 
that only a small part of it could be furnished 
with sittings. Its spiritual oversight was still 
more difficult to be managed. A large propor- 
tion of this class, being slaves, could not be 

24; 



248 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

reached and disciplined, except by persons of 
their own color. Few of them could attend 
the church-meetings. And the instructions of 
the pulpit could not be always adapted espe- 
cially to their wants. It was quite evident, 
also, that the new edifice could not be so de- 
signed, either in size or structure, as to admit 
the mixed congregation, with any convenience 
to either class. The interests of both, there- 
fore, imperatively demanded their permanent 
separation. But how could this be effected ? 
Could the Church afford to give up the old 
house and lot to the blacks, at the very time 
that she was erecting a new house on a new 
lot at a cost of some forty thousand dollars ? 
If she should conclude to relinquish half the 
appraised value of the old property to the 
colored brotherhood, would they be able and 
willing to pay for the other half, at a time when 
they were just assuming the expenses of sepa- 
rate worship ? Questions still more grave and 
delicate were yet to be solved. Would the 
law of the State allow a distinct organization 
for colored worshippers ? And if the measure 
were strictly legal, would public sentiment, on 
some subjects far more potent and more jealous 
than law, quietly acquiesce in the arrangement? 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 249 

These were the preliminary points that had 
to be adjusted before any decisive plans could 
be matured. They all required a clear head 
and a steady hand. And such were the head 
and hand of the Pastor. His prominent coad- 
jutors were Richard C. Wortham, James Sizer, 
Richard Reins, Samuel Hardgrove, and Archi- 
bald and James Thomas, all but one of whom 
have gone to their final reward. It was first 
ascertained, by consulting able jurists, that the 
law allowed colored persons to be organized 
for separate worship, provided a white minister 
should always conduct the worship. On this 
point, public sentiment was somewhat divided. 
Some persons were strongly opposed to the 
measure. Others were coldly in favor of it, 
but a large majority were indifferent, or at least 
not disposed to express any opinion, till they 
could see how the plan would work. The First 
Church determined to allay prejudice and to 
guard against danger by appointing a Com- 
mittee of eighteen discreet brethren to act as 
supervisors of the African Church. Of this 
committee, twelve were from the First, four 
from the Second, and two from the Third, now 
Grace Street, Church. These were to elect the 
Pastor, and two of them were to be present 
22 



25O CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

with him at all the gatherings for public wor- 
ship. Like all other Committees, this was 
more easily appointed, than it was induced to 
attend to the duties prescribed. It is but just, 
however, to add that some of the appointees, 
especially of the First Church, did attend regu- 
larly, in their turn, at all the meetings of the 
African Church on the Lord's Day. 

The pecuniary questions were not so hard to 
settle. It was decided to have the property 
appraised and to have it deeded to the colored 
people, as soon as they should pay rather more 
than half its estimated value. It was assessed 
at $13,500. One of the brethren of the First 
Church, well skilled both in giving and in urg- 
ing others to give, agreed to collect three thou- 
sand dollars of this fund from leading citizens 
of Richmond, outside of Baptist circles. And 
the colored brethren were informed that they 
could occupy the old house, as soon as it should 
be vacated by the whites, and that, on their 
payment of the remaining forty-five hundred 
dollars, which they thought they could raise, 
the property should be deeded to Trustees, to 
be held by them for the exclusive and perpetual 
tise of the First African Baptist Church. Both 
these pledges were redeemed, and in the year 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 25 I 

1849 tne property was conveyed to its present 
incumbents, who had paid $5,000.19, principal 
and interest. 

Dr. Jeter drew up the Constitution of the 
African Church. It was more Presbyterial than 
congregational in its features. It provided for 
the selection of thirty Deacons from the colored 
members, and of a white Pastor, by the Super- 
vising Committee, subject, however, to the 
approval of the whole colored membership. 
This Board of Deacons, in which vacancies 
were to be filled by a popular vote, was to be, 
in conjunction with the Pastor, the permanent 
ruling power in the body. But should its de- 
cisions be unsatisfactory to a certain number 
of its constituents, provision was made for an 
appeal to the Supervising Committee. Only 
twice was such an appeal ever taken. The 
salary of the Pastor was fixed at five hundred 
dollars per annum, to be raised by penny col- 
lections at every meeting. But if these should 
prove inadequate, the three white Baptist 
churches assumed the responsibility of supply- 
ing the deficiency. They were never called on 
for any aid in this regard, simply because it was 
not needed. 

The humble writer of this paper, then con- 



252 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

nected with the Richmond College, was chosen 
Pastor of the new organization. The motives 
that led him to accept the appointment were 
various : 1. He had been preaching every 
Lord's Day to country churches, but their re- 
moteness was sometimes inconvenient, requir- 
ing his absence from home and College about 
two days of the week. 2. He felt that the 
separation of the two classes would remove a 
great impediment from the path of the First 
Church, and thus indirectly advance its pros- 
perity in all coming time, and that he had no 
right to excuse himself from the duty of helping 
forward so important an object. 3. Since the 
passage of a law by the Virginia Legislature, 
forbidding all colored preachers to minister to 
their people in divine things, he felt that all the 
ministers of Christ, and especially those of his 
own denomination, were called on to put forth 
new efforts to evangelize the people of color. 
In fact, slavery, as it existed in all the Southern 
States, had long been a burden to his mind. 
Not that he believed it to be, semper et ubique 
a sin, but that some grievous sins were closely 
and constantly connected with it. The separa- 
tion of husbands and wives, and of parents and 
young children, for mere gain, and the prohibi- 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 



253 



tion to teach colored children to read the word 
of God, except under very limited conditions, 
he regarded as glaring wrongs. He had 
always seen in slavery, however, the mysterious 
hand of God leading the African to Jesus, and 
thus making the wrath of man to praise him. 
But that negroes, without exception, should be 
forbidden to preach, however qualified and sanc- 
tioned by their respective churches, this seemed 
not only to violate freedom of conscience in 
regard both to the whites and the blacks, but 
to attempt to contravene the manifest pur- 
pose of God in permitting the institution of 
slavery. In common with all his thoughtful 
fellow-citizens, he had long been oppressed with 
these reflections, but the whole subject was too 
delicate and embarrassing to admit of ventila- 
tion. The Virginia pulpit has an instinctive 
aversion to the discussion of politico-religious 
subjects. And now that Providence had opened 
a way, for his personal efforts, to elevate an 
unfortunate race, and thus to mitigate, in some 
degree, their servitude, this was a real solace 
to his heart. 4. In addition to these induce- 
ments, he had long regarded the Christianiza- 
tion of the millions of Africa as likely to be 
brought to pass only by the conversion of the 

22* 



254 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

Americo-African, and by his mission, with the 
true faith, to the land of his forefathers. If the 
gospel must be preached " to every creature," 
how could one, with the vows of Heaven upon 
him, refuse to enter so promising a field of use- 
fulness ? If it was his duty to aid the Foreign 
Mission Board, according to his humble mea- 
sure, in sending the word of life to the heathen 
nations abroad, how could he decline to preach 
that word, at his own door, to a people, many 
of whom — not all — were practically heathen ? 
These arguments were too weighty and far- 
reaching to be counterbalanced by the odium 
that would certainly be connected with the office 
of a " nigger preacher!' He entered this field 
on the first Sunday in October, 1841, and was 
cordially received by the whole congregation. 
The revised list of actual members contained 
about one thousand. The thirty Deacons, who 
constituted the ruling element of the Church, 
were an intelligent, godly, and highly respected 
body of men. He verily believes that, in all 
their religious convocations, they, each and 
every one, had at heart only their own spiritual 
culture, the salvation of their people, the peace 
and order of society, and the glory of God. 
Having been often asked what course he 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 



255 



pursued in discharging his pastoral functions, 
he has always replied : " I treat the colored 
people from the pulpit, and in all my presidings 
as Moderator, and in all my official intercourse, 
exactly as I would a white congregation, i. e. : 
with the greatest possible respect!' If they were 
slaves, he thought of them as Christ's freemen, 
— if free, as Christ's slaves. In truth, brethren, 
the gospel knows no white, no black, no rich, 
no poor, no bond, no free, no North, no South, 
no East, no West. The gospel was devised 
for man, and man needs the gospel. 

There were, however, some strongly marked 
peculiarities in the congregation, to which the 
Pastor, of course, aimed to adapt his teachings. 
He sought to be instructive, rather than pathe- 
tic — to dwell on the distinctive doctrines and 
precepts of Christianity, rather than on its 
metaphysical refinements — to preach out of 
their minds their dreams and fancies, their 
visions and revelations, and all their long cher- 
ished superstitions — and to preach into their 
minds a knowledge of the great facts of their 
religion, with its consequent doctrines, obli- 
gations, and privileges. That this mode of 
teaching was not wholly ineffectual was shown 
by the two following representative cases : 



256 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

An intelligent-looking man, whose name I 
did not know, came to me at the close of a 
meeting one day, and said, with evident con- 
cern : " Brother Ryland, you've preached away 
nearly all my religion. What is left is hanging 
by a single thread." " What is that thread ?" 
I inquired. "Jesus Christ died to save sinners. 
They must trust alone in him," he answered. 
" Well, that thread," said I, with a smile, " is 
strong enough to hold you up." 

A lad, about twelve years of age, was pre- 
senting himself as a candidate for baptism. 
Among other questions, I asked him why he 
wished to be baptized. "In Mark xvi. 16," he 
replied, " Jesus says, ' He that believeth and is 
baptized shall be saved.' I believe in him, and 
now I wish to obey his command." 

Especially did the Pastor labor, with all the 
plainness and point which our language affords, 
to impress on them the law of chastity. This 
he regarded as their great necessity, and he had 
reliable testimony from themselves that a great 
revolution on this subject was wrought among 
them during the years of his ministry with 
them. 

He wrote a Catechism, of fifty-two lessons, 
for the benefit of the entire congregation. The 



CELEBRA TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 2$J 

questions were so formed as to require the 
answer, "yes," or "no," and a passage of Scrip- 
ture was then quoted to prove the answer. It 
is believed that much good resulted from mem- 
orizing at least one proof-text on the various 
topics introduced into the lessons. 

It had long been the habit of many of the 
attendants to come late to meeting. This habit 
was not only hurtful to those who indulged it, 
but it disturbed the quietness of the audience 
and interrupted the preaching. At first, the 
pastor thought that the employers might have 
detained their house-servants so long, as to pre- 
vent their reaching the sanctuary in time. On 
inquiry, he found that most of the families, who 
permitted their servants to come at all, allowed 
them ample time to secure punctuality. He 
found, moreover, that when there was a mar- 
riage to be solemnized, or something amusing 
to be exhibited, everybody was in time. After 
trying by moral suasion, very urgently, but in 
vain for several years, to break up this annoy- 
ance, he induced the Deacons to pass an order 
that the church-yard gates should be locked 
forty-five minutes after the time to begin wor- 
ship, so as to exclude incomers after the sermon 
began. This measure seemed harsh, but its 



258 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 

effect was most salutary. Very few were really 
kept out, and loiterers were taught a valu- 
able lesson. The evil being, to a great degree, 
corrected, the rule was, after six months, sus- 
pended. 

During the last four or five years of his con- 
nection, the Pastor taught a Sunday-school for 
children and youth on Lord's Day morning. 
Although only oral instruction could be lawfully 
given, yet many valuable ideas were imparted 
to the four hundred attendants. Many beauti- 
ful hymns taught, and many striking portions of 
Scripture committed to memory, could not have 
failed of happy results. 

There were several ministers of respectable 
gifts in the Church, who, at the request of pri- 
vate families and by the connivance of the offi- 
cers of the law, often attended funerals in 
the city and the adjacent country. But it was 
thought to be the wisest and kindest course, to 
keep all the services at the Church strictly with- 
in the provisions of the law. These brethren, 
therefore, were never invited to occupy the 
pulpit. But, as a sort of recompense for this 
slight, they, and others, were called on to pray, 
several times, at each religious service. Many 
of these prayers exhibited great fervency and 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 259 

power, and afforded the highest degree of com- 
fort, both to those who offered them and to 
those who heard them. The singing by the 
choir was performed with scientific skill and 
Christian heartiness, but when the vast con- 
gregation poured out its full soul in the old- 
fashioned songs, the long and loud bursts of 
praise reminded one of the "sound of many 
waters." There is no doubt but that to these 
devotional accompaniments — prayer and praise 
— was due the largest part of the spirituality of 
the Church, and of the success of the ministry 
in winning souls. A colored brother was never 
known to refuse to pray in public when called 
upon. He did the very best he was able to do, 
and the Master asks no more. " Who hath 
ears to hear, let him hear." 

There were usually at our College some 
twenty or twenty-five young men, studying for 
the ministry. And, like theologians generally, 
most of them were not burdened with money. 
Partly to help their pockets and partly to im- 
prove their gifts, as well as to get assistance in 
his arduous work, the Pastor often invited these 
young men to officiate for him in the afternoon. 
At the close of a sermon by one of these, 
Deacon Simms, an excellent man, was requested 



26o CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

to follow with prayer. He offered up a devout 
petition to God for his blessing on the truths 
just delivered, and for large grace "on our 
stripling young brother that is trying to learn 
how to preach. " 

The good order of the congregation was re- 
markable — for its size, it was wonderful. Dur- 
ing the twenty-four years of his ministry among 
them, the Pastor did not see a single instance of 
a group of persons, young or old, engaged 
in talking and laughing during public worship. 

The financial business was divided among 
several Committees, who, having collected the 
funds and distributed them to their appropriate 
objects, made to the Church quarterly reports 
of their respective doings. These reports were 
uniformly entered on the church records. The 
Pastor, who also acted as clerk, recollects no 
instance of a single report being not ready 
when called for, or having an error in the ad- 
ditions — or a conflict between the "balance in 
hand" at the close of one quarter and its en- 
trance on the report for the next quarter. He 
believes that no defalcation occurred, or was 
even suspected, in the handling of these funds. 
His salary, with the exception of the first two 
years, when the training process was incom- 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 261 

plete, was cheerfully and promptly paid at the 
close of every quarter. " Who hath ears to hear, 
let him hear." 

In the year 1846, the Second African Church 
was constituted under the auspices of the Sec- 
ond Baptist Church. So far as my knowledge 
extends, this body has enjoyed a high degree of 
prosperity. One of its leading members once 
complained to me so bitterly of his pastor that 
it seemed proper to suggest that he should be 
requested to resign. "We have offered him 
his resignation," said he, "but he would not 
accept it." 

About the year 1855, it was found to be 
necessary to send out a colony from the First 
African Church. Its number of members had 
grown to three thousand, and its house was 
quite inadequate to their accommodation. By 
the cordial assent and co-operation of the 
brotherhood, a lot was purchased in the neigh- 
borhood of Bacon Quarter Branch, and a neat 
edifice was built. It was dedicated the fifth 
Sunday in May, 1858, and theEbenezer Church, 
consisting of four hundred members, was soon 
afterwards constituted. This property, which 
cost a little over eight thousand dollars, was 
paid for and deeded to Trustees for the benefit 
23 



2 62 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

of the Church just before the close of the late 
war. These two churches — the mother and the 
daughter, have cherished mutual harmony in 
their efforts to advance the cause of God. 

From October ist, 1841, to July 1st, 1865, 
the additions by baptism to the First African 
Church were three thousand ei^ht hundred and 
thirty-two. Of this number, no larger a pro- 
portion fell away from the belief and practice 
of the truth, than is usual in our average 
churches. It was thought best to discourage a 
hasty profession of religion among them. The 
applicants for admission were required to bring 
testimonials of good or improving characters. 
They were then examined by some Deacon or 
experienced member, and kindly admonished 
as to the responsibility about to be assumed. 
They were then brought before the Pastor, who 
satisfied himself in regard to their intelligence 
and their fitness for the new relation. Had the 
persuasive, instead of the restraining, policy 
been pursued, the number of the baptized 
might easily have been doubled. It seemed very 
important to impress especially the younger 
candidates with a deep sense of the fearful 
guilt of trifling with their souls and with their 
God. 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 263 

In respect to the popular feeling of Rich- 
mond towards the Church, the Pastor takes 
leave to say that among the highest circles of 
society he believes there was the kindest in- 
terest felt in its welfare and permanence. To 
say that no suspicions were cherished — that no 
surmisings were expressed — that no diminution 
of respect and appreciation was shown by some 
persons, would be going beyond the limits of 
truth. It sometimes requires a little moral 
courage to obey the dictates of conscience. 
But let all this pass. Of the resident clergy of 
the city, Dr. Jeter excepted, no one evinced 
more sympathy with, and more regard for, the 
well-being of the Church than the late Bishop 
Johns. He often preached for us, and seemed 
quite gratified when, on one occasion, he was 
complimented as a " first-rate nigger preacher." 
All the annual meetings of the several de- 
nominations, when convened in the city, were 
invited to supply the pulpit, not only on Sun- 
days, but on the secular days — and those sent 
preached with great acceptance, and expressed 
themselves as delighted with the order and de- 
corum of the assembly. 

At the close of the war, the constitution and 
rules of order were so far modified, as to adapt 



264 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

them to the new relations which the colored 
people sustained to society. The Pastor then 
offered his resignation, from a belief that they 
would naturally and justly prefer a minister of 
their own color. This resignation was proposed 
and accepted with mutual kindness and good 
will. It has always seemed incongruous that a 
Baptist minister should argue stoutly in behalf 
of the popular election of church-officers, and 
then complain if he is not chosen or continued 
in office. 

A few general remarks will finish what I have 
to say. 

It is a misconception of the African race, which 
many Anglo-Saxons cherish, that all negroes are 
alike. While the whole human family are 
depraved, and the sameness of condition, sur- 
rounding a particular tribe, will impress on it a 
peculiar type of character, still there is as much 
individuality — as much variety of intellectual 
and moral temperament — -among the negroes 
as there is among persons of any other race. I 
have witnessed as bright examples of godliness, 
of disinterested kindness, of real gentility of 
manners, and of native mental shrewdness 
among them, as among other people. Many of 
the old men and matrons were brought up in 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 265 

the best families, and understood all the proprie- 
ties of life. Their manners were polished, and 
their principles correct. This, to a partial ex- 
tent, was true of some of the young" people of 
both sexes. Say you this was the result of 
imitation ? Very well. And do not our child- 
ren get all their refinement by imitation ? Let 
me give you specimens of the traits just enu- 
merated. 

Nicholas Scott was an old man, whom some 
of the present citizens will remember. He 
was the owner and driver of a hack, and before 
the day of railroads, used to take John Marshall, 
William Wickham, B. Watkins Leigh, and other 
distinguished lawyers, to the court-houses in the 
adjoining counties. He was highly esteemed 
by them for his upright and obliging temper, 
and caught their dignified bearing and courtly 
manners. He had always something to say for 
their amusement, calling himself Old Nick. 
Having returned from the North, after a sojourn 
there of a year or two, he met one of these 
gentlemen on the street, and, after the mutual 
greetings, being asked why he had come back 
to Old Virginia, he said: "Oh, sir, the North is 
no place for a gentleman!' I knew him only as 
a matured Christian. While he was hearing 
. 23* 



266 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

the gospel, his face was radiant with intelligence 
and joy. He came up to the College once to 
see me when sick, and brought me a little 
basket of eggs. I could not but notice the 
delicacy with which he offered his present, and 
the modesty and skill with which he administered 
the comforts of religion. I called to see him in 
his last illness. He was lying on a bed whose 
sheets, pillow-cases, and counterpane were mar- 
velously white and clean, and in an humble 
chamber of corresponding neatness. He seemed 
perfectly rational, fully aware of his approaching 
end, and more than willing to depart. "I am 
all packed up and ready to start on my long 
journey," said he, alluding to his former mode 
of life; "but I don't want to go one moment 
sooner, or stay one moment longer, than the 
Master wills." Thus he died. And I witnessed 
many similar deaths among those people. "The 
Lord knoweth them that are his." 

Aaron Lee was a coarser, rougher, more ple- 
beian specimen of sable humanity. His master 
had such entire confidence in his honesty, that 
he used to send his checks by him to the bank 
for deposit. One day, Aaron reached the bank 
just after it was closed, and he had to hold his 
check till the next morning. Happening to be 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 267 

caught out that night by a policeman, after the 
lawful hour, he was lodged in the watch-house, 
and the next morning taken before the mayor. 
Being asked by his Honor, with some surprise, 
why he had been caught on the street without 
a " pass " at an unseasonable hour, he answered 
that he had a pass, but it was in the same 
pocket with a large cheok, and, as he did not 
know what sort of a man the officer was, he 
chose to go to the lock-up, rather than to pull 
out his pass and check together to be inspected 
by the officer. 

The sexton of Dr. Jeter's Church was a 
member of the African Church. One Lord's 
Day afternoon, Dr. Jeter and I exchanged pul- 
pits, and the sexton went down to his own con- 
gregation, expecting to hear me. After closing 
the exercises at the First Church, I walked 
down to see that the people were retiring 
quietly, and to ask if everything had gone on 
smoothly. Meeting with the young sexton, I 
inquired: "Who preached for you this after- 
noon?" "Dr. Jeter." "What was his text?" 
"The same he took at his own Church this 
morning " — repeating it. " Did he preach the 
same sermon ?" " Just the same, except that 
he left out one paragraph addressed to the rich, 



268 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

because he thought we had no rich people down 
here." 

One of my members went, on a certain occa- 
sion, to hear a learned gentleman, then a Pastor 
of this city. I do not vouch for the justice of 
the criticism, but, being asked how he liked the 
sermon, he said : " He preaches too much out 
of the dictionary." 

A prominent preacher among his brethren 
was making an address at our communion, and 
said : " There was no death among the ancient 
people of God during the days of Moses. He 
made a brazen serpent and put it up on a high 
pole. And whosoever looked upon it was 
saved from death. And I reckon they all must 
have looked upon it, for Paul says ' death 
reigned from Adam to Moses.' And if he 
reigned from Adam to Moses, he could not have 
reigned after Moses came." 

Sometimes I was called on to decide contro- 
versies on knotty points of interpretation. Two 
young men brought a disputed case about the 
five barley loaves, mentioned in the miracle of 
the loaves and fishes. One of them contended 
that the loaves were made of barley as we 
make bread of wheat and corn. The other, 
more given to abstruse speculation, maintained 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 269 

that the loaves were so small that they were 
barely loaves. 

To vary the exercises, so as to take them out 
of the deep-worn ruts, I sometimes stood up in 
the pulpit and invited any one to interrogate 
me on points of doctrine that might be bearing 
on his mind. A brother rose up one Sunday 
and said: "Prophecy foretold that a bone of 
Christ should not be broken. Suppose the 
soldiers, who broke the legs of the two male- 
factors, had tried to break the legs of Christ, 
do you think they could have done it?" These 
are specimens of their mental processes, and 
which of you, learned divines, ever struck out 
thoughts of greater origt7iality than these ? 

There was a spirit of inquiry among them. 
It came in my way, in one of my sermons, to 
state and expose some of the learned nonsense 
of Baron Swedenborg. The next day I hap- 
pened in a book-store, and the merchant told 
me that the young man whom I met going out 
had just inquired for the works of Baron Swe- 
denborg. 

A sort of club among the young men of a 
certain section of the city met every Sunday 
night to talk over the sermons of the day. One 
was called on to give the text, another the 



27O CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

divisions, a third the doctrine, duties, etc., of 
the discourse, until, by one or another, the 
whole sermon, if it was worth anything, was re- 
produced. 

I often witnessed cases of disinterestedness 
that were really touching. Having spent the 
night with a gentleman in Hanover, during one 
of my vacation-trips in the interest of the Col- 
lege, 1 observed, next morning, that my horse 
was nicely combed and curried, and, as was 
usual in those days, I offered the boy a dime for 
his attention. He stepped back and said, with 
an air of the greatest kindness: "I couldn't 
possibly take anything from my Pastor." In- 
deed, that spirit pervaded the whole Church. 
As my salary had been fixed by the Superin- 
tending Committee, and as I was afraid they 
might feel oppressed by the sum, having other 
burdens to bear, I proposed, at the close of the 
second year, to the Board of Deacons, that they 
should reduce the sum to four hundred dollars, 
and requested them to have a separate meet- 
ing, and, after consulting the brethren general- 
ly, to decide and report by the next month. 
They resolved, unanimously, that the salary 
should not be reduced. 

Strangers may ask how they raised the 



CELEBRA TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 2 7 I 

means for all these church expenditures. I an- 
swer: 1. Many of them, being free, were good 
mechanics, waiters, and drivers, and received 
living wages. 2. The slaves had their food, 
clothing, lodging, and medical attendance from 
their masters, and whatever money they 
gathered up was for other purposes. 3. All 
the factory hands had " tasks " assigned to 
them, and, if they were expert and diligent, 
they always did " overwork" for which they were 
promptly paid. Some of them told me that 
they sometimes received on Saturday night 
more wages for themselves than they had 
earned for their masters. 4. All the slaves had 
perquisites of some kind. If called on to do 
extra work, or to serve at unusual times, or if 
they showed marked fidelity, they were gen- 
erally recompensed. 5. My own servants, when 
we were about to furnish their fall or spring 
clothing, would often say that, by patching their 
old garments, they could do without new ones, 
and would ask us for the money instead. Of 
course, we had no objection to this plan, unless 
we suspected a vicious use of the money. I 
suppose other families pursued the same course. 
Thus the servants often bought the first shad, 
the first watermelon, the first strawberries, of 



272 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

the season, long before their masters could 
afford such luxuries for their tables. 6. Add to 
all this, I am happy to say, that some masters 
gave their servants money especially to meet 
their church expenses. Each attendant gave 
at least one cent at every meeting, and a con- 
gregation of a thousand, worshipping twice on 
the Lord's Day, will raise a thousand dollars a 
year without any conscious sacrifice. 

And now, brethren, as I have perhaps de- 
tained you too long with these minute details, I 
will close with one remark. The negroes are 
now all free, and I am heartily glad of it, 
though I say nothing of the agencies and 
methods by which the event was accomplished. 
They are our fellow- men — our feMow-cittzens — 
and many of them our fellow- Christians. Let 
us treat them in the spirit of our common 
Christianity. And let us remember that its 
leading doctrine, in respect to our relations to 
man, is: " Love worketh no ill to his neighbor, 
therefore love is the fulfilling of the law!' 



FRATERNAL ADDRESSES 

BY 

basil manly, 
e. w. warren, 
h. Mcdonald. 



ADDRESS. 

BY BASIL MANLY. 



I WAS startled, the other day, to find how- 
venerable I had become. I called to see our 
honorable sister, Miss Lucy Courtney, in her 
solitude of perfect deafness and entire blind- 
ness — bowed under the weight of fourscore and 
ten years. As soon she had spelled out my 
name by her system of signals, she startled me, 
not more by the affectionate embrace with which 
she honored me than by designating me as 
"Dear Brother Manly, the oldest living Pastor 
of the First Church." I had never thought of 
it before. Though younger in years than all 
my successors, except the present incumbent, I 
am left, by the death of Dr. Jeter, the Senior 
Surviving Pastor. 

It is difficult for me to realize that it is about 
thirty years since I arrived in Richmond at the 
call of this Church, a youth of twenty-four, with 

275 



276 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

no pastoral experience, except for a single year 
with country churches in Alabama, and in frail 
health. It seems to me as but yesterday, when 
the "young men" of this Church met me at the 
depot, Coleman Wortham, Robert Bosher and 
W. H. Gwathmey, and conducted me to the 
hospitable Wortham mansion on Grace Street, 
which ever afterwards felt like a home to me. 
A brief sojourn in the family of James C. Crane 
gave me a similar freedom of intercourse with 
that noble brother and his household. And 
then my more permanent abode was taken up 
with Brother Archibald Thomas, to whose warm 
heart, sound judgment, and honest, earnest 
energy, not only I, but this whole Church, owe 
so much. 

How I lament that she, who survived him, and 
who was so long the liorht of his home, and the 
hospitable, cheerful, generous Mother in Israel, 
did not live to enjoy this day, and to receive the 
honors which grateful hearts would rejoice to 
render her — one of the noblest Christian women 
that I ever knew, a second mother to me. 

I remember that just at the time of my 
arrival here, Rev. James B. Taylor was passing 
through that critical illness which threatened to 
deprive us of his valuable services. And every 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 2 J 'J 

day for weeks I visited his house to inquire, and 
to offer my assistance in attending him. Thank 
God, many years of useful labor were granted 
to him, and of happy companionship to me. 

I would gladly speak of the brethren who 
seemed to be pillars in those days — the Deacons; 
the Sunday School Superintendent, James Tho- 
mas; the younger active members; of D. R. 
Crane, with his cheering face and melodious 
voice; of Charles Wortham, the "eleventh hour 
laborer," as he modestly called himself — promi- 
nent and faithful, though gray-headed and infirm, 
in the young men's meeting; of many others, old 
and young, whose names and faces come freshly 
up to me; but time would not allow, and that 
duty has been appropriately assigned to others. 

During the four years that I supplied this 
pulpit, I may truly say that the Church taught 
me as well as I the Church. When I came 
here I was a novice in Church discipline, I 
lacked experience and enthusiasm in Sunday- 
schools, I knew nothing practically of the de- 
tails of an active city pastorate. I addressed 
myself honestly to the task before me, to do 
what I could ; and I found difficulties lightened, 
and rough places made plain. The Church, 
instead of leaning on me, bore up my hands, 

24* 



278 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

bore with my obvious imperfections, and rallied 
to their young Pastor in his immense work with 
a unanimity which was itself a sure token of 
success. And the Lord granted his blessing 
abundantly. At almost every monthly commu- 
nion some received the right hand of fellow- 
ship, and in a few months a gracious revival 
began, in which about a hundred were bap- 
tized. 

Soon, among the numerous members on 
Church and Union Hills, regular prayer-meet- 
ings were established, and occasional preaching, 
resulting finally in the dismissal of many excel- 
lent brethren and sisters to constitute Leigh 
Street Church. 

It was not long before the effort for the en- 
dowment of Richmond College demanded 
earnest co-operation with the Agent, Brother 
A. M. Poindexter, and many weeks of toil were 
given to aid him in that work, resulting in a 
contribution of some twenty thousand dollars 
at that time from this Church. 

Scarcely had this been accomplished, when 
the same spirit of enterprise prompted the 
establishment of a kindred institution for young 
ladies. The Richmond Female Institute grew 
out of the consultations and efforts of a body 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 279 

of liberal and far-seeing brethren, in 1853, called 
together at the instance of Brother James 
Thomas, Jr. Though the Richmond churches 
had contributed that year about seven thousand 
dollars towards the erection of the new Church 
on Leigh Street, and nearly forty thousand dol- 
lars the year before to Richmond College, they 
pressed forward to this new enterprise with 
such zeal, that within a year they had the satis- 
faction of seeing the Richmond Female Institute 
opened, and the amplest facilities offered which 
an expenditure of some seventy thousand dol- 
lars in grounds, buildings, furniture, and appa- 
ratus could procure for the thorough education 
of our daughters. 

To this new enterprise, which from the be- 
ginning had engaged much of my attention, I 
myself was unexpectedly summoned, after we 
had failed to obtain the Principal to whom our 
minds had been first directed. Finding my 
health failing under the pressure of manifold 
labors, and yielding to the advice and solicita- 
tions of such honored co-laborers as Jeter, 
Howell, the Thomases, Ryland, Goddin, and 
others, I assented to the change. 

Visiting the Institute the other day, I amused 
myself by telling the young ladies, that I wanted 



280 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

to see if there was as mtich beauty there, as 
used to be in my day. And then gravely sur- 
veying their smiling, blushing, mirthful faces, I 
assured them that I was compelled to say that 
there was not! The explanation of this ap- 
parently ungallant speech was forestalled by 
the promptitude and quick wit of the accom- 
plished Principal, Miss Hamner, who quietly 
said, " Dr. Manly means that there is not as 
much beauty, because there are not so many 
girls." "Precisely," I replied, "and there is good 
reason, in the changed circumstances, why there 
could not be expected as many now as then." 

But may I be allowed to say it ? — as I looked 
upon that fair group of lovely girls, my mind 
went back to the others who sat in those places 
twenty-five years ago ; and the affectionate 
greeting, which my heart gave to the Institute 
Girls, was warmed and sweetened, along with 
a tinge of mysterious sadness, by the recollec- 
tion of faces now beneath the sod. Were there 
ever any such girls any where as those that 
gathered there ? 

Yes, for their daughters and sisters are 
springing up all around us. Thank God for 
the blessed young people that are coming up 
to take the places of the old. — I should like to 



CELEBRA TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 251 

summon the teachers of those days around us 
again. One of the noblest has passed away, 
Prof. R. P. Latham; but Dr. H. H. Tucker still 
lives, full of labors and honors, and Dr. R. A. 
Lewis, and Prof. C. H. Winston, and Mrs. Hol- 
combe, and Miss Lizzie Nelson, and Misses 
Jane Stanard, and Mary Lathrop, and Josephine 
Ragland. Bless them every one, wherever 
they are! 

But I must not protract these reminiscences. 
Let us look forward rather than backward. 
This is the end of one century; let it be the 
starting point of new progress for the next. 
Serving our own generation by the will of God 
is the noblest honor to which we can attain. 
Serving, not being served, is the true dignity of 
man, and entitles one to the most enduring and 
the most illustrious memorial. 

We need be little concerned about what pos- 
terity may say of us. The course of conduct 
which most effectively secures present useful- 
ness will also ensure future influence ; and if 
men erect no monuments to honor our names, 
that matters not. God will remember the 
work we tried to do, the work we wanted to do 
for him, the work that we did so imperfectly 
and feebly that we were ashamed at the time, 



282 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

and can scarcely now recall it without a painful 
sense of short-comings and deficiences. But it 
was for Him. That gave sweetness to the 
work then. That gives glory and permanence 
to it now. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, 
be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding 
in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know 
that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." 



ADDRESS 

By E. W. WARREN. 



WE are here in response to the call of our 
venerable mother. 

Though only an adopted son, yet, hav- 
ing received such tokens of affection, and 
enjoyed so frequently the attention and warmth 
of love due only to the children, I claim the 
right, with them, to bring my grateful tribute, 
which is cordial and unaffected. 

But few mothers have lived to so great an 
age. Not many have been permitted to call 
together their sons and daughters to rejoice in 
the celebration of their one hundredth birth- 
day. We look into this maternal face, whose 
peaceful smile and tender greeting have- so 
often given comfort and encouragement in the 
sorrows and strifes of life, and there remains 
still the beauty of youth gracing her brow, and 
increased elasticity, giving zest to her enter- 
prises. 

283 



284 CELEBRATION OE THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

Her natural force is unabated, and her prom- 
ise for another hundred years of activity and 
fruitfulness is a thousand-fold greater than 
when she began her life of consecration a cen- 
tury ago. 

Her sons have come from afar to do her 
honor. Ardent and efficient reapers have, for 
the time, left their sickles in the midst of ripen- 
ing harvests, and come to pay tribute of love 
to their spiritual Alma Mater. Her sons and 
daughters dispersed over the States of this 
Union, who are unable to be present at this 
happy family reunion, turning their hearts to- 
ward her, are saying: "For my brethren and 
companions' sakes, I will now say, peace be 
within thee." We, whose good fortune it is to 
be here, " Were glad when they said unto us, 
let us go up to this house of the Lord." Our 
hearts united in spiritual harmony as we united 
in the ancient chorus, "Our feet shall stand 
within thy gates," O thou blessed "Jerusalem." 
Journeying hither, as in visions we saw her in 
the distance, we unitedly cried: "Beautiful for 
situation, the joy" of all her sons and daugh- 
ters, is this Zion of our spiritual nativity. 

Now that we stand before these sacred altars, 
in the midst of these familiar scenes, and sur- 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 285 

rounded by this loving brotherhood, grateful 
memories of the past fill the mind, and as we 
are reminded of the wonderful achievements 
of the providence and grace of God in this 
place, and through this people, we exclaim with 
Jacob and Israel ; " What hath God wrought !" 
As we enjoy the ever increasing fruits of these 
gracious agencies, we are in harmony with the 
sentiment of Moses ; " Let thy work appear 
unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their 
children." 

We are happy in this presence, and language 
refuses to express the fulness of love and joy 
we now experience. Looking into the faces of 
the many godly men and women who are here, 
we find reason to " thank God and take 
courage." Here sits our venerable brother 
(Dr. R. Ryland) who, as a minister, gave much 
of the strength of his vigorous manhood to 
sowing the precious seeds of eternal life ; and 
as an educator, to preparing our people for 
that higher and broader culture, which is now 
so generally appreciated. He was the first 
President of Richmond College. He is to-day 
apparently as full of strength in body, of energy 
in intellect, of force in expression ; as warm in 
heart, as loving in nature, as ever in the past. 
25 



286 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

Here, too, is our learned Gamaliel (Dr. B. 
Manly) in the vigor of manhood; every where 
regarded with " affectionate veneration," for his 
wisdom and piety. As happy in his explica- 
tions of whatever is intricate, as he is felicitous 
in enforcing whatever is practical, or transpar- 
ent in his expositions of whatever is polemic in 
theology. At his feet are gathering the conse- 
crated young Timothys from the Southern 
States, that they may "learn the way of the Lord 
more perfectly," and understand better how to 
bear glad tidings of salvation to all the people. 

Here, also, is our beloved Paul (Dr. J. L. 
Burrows) — not " the aged," for he never grows 
old — in the full stature of spiritual manhood. 
Matured in mental culture, with his Addisonian 
tastes and instincts. His much learning has 
not made him mad. He continues to speak 
forth the words of truth and soberness, with 
such force in argument, grace in style, and 
unction of the Spirit, that Felix trembles and 
Agrippa is almost persuaded to be a Christian. 

" We venerate the man whose heart is warm, 
Whose hands are pure, whose doctrine and whose life 
Coincident, exhibit lucid proof 
That he is honest in the sacred calling." 

And also, here is our Apollos (Dr. J. B. 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 287 

Hawthorne). " An eloquent man, and mighty 
in the scriptures : " combining in the proclama- 
tion of his sacred message, the graces of elocu- 
tion, the vigor of thought, and the strength of 
argument. On every side we greet the well- 
trained, consecrated, laborious sons, from whose 
successful toil in other fields, numerous sheaves 
are being gathered for the heavenly garner. 
We greatly rejoice in their success ; and bid 
them God speed in their glorious life-work. 

Here, in generous sympathy with our joyous 
hearts, are our invited guests. It is sweet to 
feel we are all one in Christ. One in doctrine, 
one in hope, one in labor, one in destiny. That 
we are now permitted to dwell together in 
unity. 

Before me are the familiar forms and faces of 
the Stephens and Philips, who are always ready, 
"as they have opportunity, to do good unto all 
men, especially unto them who are of the house- 
hold of faith." Having used the office of a 
Deacon well, they " have purchased to them- 
selves a good degree, and great boldness in 
the faith which is in Jesus Christ." 

Seated on the pews before me, are the Phebes, 
the Priscillas, and the Marys. The faithful ser- 
vants of the Church, who have bestowed much 



288 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

labor on it. They are still waiting before the 
sacred altars, with hearts and hands ever ready, 
saying: "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" 
They constitute an element of wonderful power, 
beginning now, as they were in the days of the 
apostles, to be appreciated and encouraged. 

Here are we, in the midst of a godly brother- 
hood, who uniformly have a mind to work. 
Having laid hold on eternal life, they are fight- 
ing the good fight of faith. They are building 
up the walls over against their own houses, 
while they are going forth bearing precious 
seed. They are keeping the unity of the 
Spirit in the bond of peace, and are dwelling- 
together in unity. "Behold, how good and 
how pleasant." 

But I look in vain for forms and faces once 
familiar here. I listen for, but do not hear, the 
voices which once so lovingly imparted good 
cheer and wise counsel. Where are they ? Did 
they not hear this call to fraternal reunion ? 
Have they gone in response to an invitation to 
the family gathering above ? Where are Mor- 
ris and Courtney and Bryce and Kerr and 
Hinton and Jeter, once the loved, honored and 
successful pastors of this fold ? Where are 
Broaddus and Keeling and Jennett and Taylor, 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 289 

who stood for a time in their lot as watchmen 
on these walls ? 

Where are the godly men and women, whose 
consecrated lives, whose religious intelligence, 
whose pious influence gave character and tone 
to the holy zeal and inspiration which to-day 
move us onward in our great mission of glori- 
fying Christ and blessing humanity ? They 
were lent to us for a season, that they might 
point towards heaven, and lead the way. Now 
they "rest from their labors, and their works do 
follow them." On their brows sit the " crowns 
of righteousness" which were reserved for 
them. They have gone to behold the glory of 
the Son which he had with the Father. They 
fought a good fight, they kept the faith, they 
have finished their course. They have entered 
into the joy of their Lord. 

It is probable that one hundred years from 
to-day the members of this Church will gather 
here to celebrate its Second Centennial. Not 
one now present will be here to witness the 
joyous proceedings of that occasion. For one 
hundred years the members of this Church have 
been gathering to our "home over there." 
Every month of the year witnesses the depart- 
ure of one or more. The voice still calls. It 

25* 



29O CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

will continue to sound; and sooner or later it 
will be personal to each of us. The mansions 
are being prepared, they are almost ready for 
some of us. Soon the announcement will be 
made to us by him who has gone to prepare 
them, "Come, for all things are ready." 

This is a pleasant reunion, but that will be 
infinitely more so. I anticipated this with plea- 
sure ; I look forward to that with joy. Here is 
only a part of the family ; all will be there. 
Tears and sighs are here ; fulness of joy will 
be there. We shall soon separate here, per- 
haps to meet no more till we pass over the 
other side ; there we shall go no more out for- 
ever. Here we have mixtures of joy and sor- 
row, because of sin ; there we shall be of the 
"spirits of the just made perfect" Here are va- 
cant seats, and broken links, and aching hearts ; 
there the loved and lost are found, the tears 
are dried, and death has gone forever. Here 
we are exiles from our Father's face, and our 
heavenly home ; there we shall be " forever 
with the Lord." 



" Here in the body pent, 

Absent from him I roam, 
Yet nightly pitch my moving tent, 
A day's march nearer home." 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 



29I 



Now we pant after God ; then we shall 
be satisfied. Now we hunger and thirst 
after righteousness ; then we shall be filled. 
Now we are members of the church militant 
and are pressing onward ; soon we shall come 
to " Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living 
God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and unto an in- 
numerable company of angels, to the general 
assembly and church of the first born, which 
are written in heaven, and to God, the judge of 
all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, 
and to Jesus, the Mediator of the new cove- 
nant." 

We will rejoice and be glad, for great is our 
reward of grace in heaven. 



ADDRESS 
by h. Mcdonald. 



BRETHREN and sisters of the First Church: 
I congratulate you on this, the glad cen- 
tennial of your Church. You are honored 
in that so many of your former Pastors are 
here to greet you. Here is Dr. Manly, who 
served you with his young and noble manhood. 
I was once his Pastor. I am sure he was more 
helpful to me than I was to him; here is Dr. 
Burrows, who seems to have lived with the 
Church all through her life from the fulness of 
fellowship and accuracy of detail with which he 
portrayed her noble history ; but the years 
have gone over him lightly ; he will always be 
young ; here also is our beloved Warren, whose 
stay with us drew all hearts to him and whose 
withdrawment made us so sad only to make 
Georgia rejoice in the return of her noble son ; 
here too is your present young and gifted 
292 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 293 

Pastor, the worthy successor of these beloved 
brethren. Accept my congratulations for the 
large, harmonious membership which fills these 
pews, and whose labors in all Christian work 
deserve unstinted praise. Thanks be unto God 
for all these. 

What shall we say as our hearts have been 
so deeply moved at the mention of the former 
Pastors, whose labors are ended and whose is 
the everlasting rest ? Morris, and Courtney, 
and Kerr, and Hinton, and Jeter whose name 
makes every lip tremble — what a noble galaxy 
in the firmament of heaven ! Besides these, 
how many that once filled these pews, and 
whose hearts and voices praised the Lord of 
all, have gone to join the church of the first 
born in heaven ? All honor and praise to God 
for this noble vine ! 

We come to-day from the churches that sur- 
round you ; and, as children, we call you 
blessed. Nearly four years ago I came from 
Kentucky. My heart was heavy as I left her 
noble and ever dear people ; but when I 
reached Richmond and received such a glad 
welcome from my own beloved Second Church, 
the pang of separation gave way to the joy of 
such hearty kindness. I thank you to-day for 



294 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 



the grace and beauty with which you trained 
your daughters. With such a mother, how 
could they be otherwise than graceful and 
noble ? With such a history of constant en- 
deavor and gracious success, need we urge you 
to cherish deepest gratitude to God? Not by 
might or by power, but by his Spirit has all this 
been done. His hand led you from the feeble 
band of fourteen that organized on Union Hill 
to your present strength of numbers and effi- 
ciency. Let such mercies be recorded in the 
joy and praises of your heart and life. Let 
every heart and hand raise an Ebenezer to the 
God and Father of our. Lord Jesus Christ. 

With our gratitude for the past and present, 
let confidence and hope lead and brighten the 
future. Let the centennial upon which we now 
enter be as the one we close, only much more 
abundant for the glory of Christ and the good 
of men. With your hearts stirred by the glad- 
some memories of the holy living of the men 
and women who labored wisely and well in the 
past, let us turn to him who gave all, and anew 
let us give ourselves to him for work or sacri- 
fice, as infinite love and wisdom direct. So be 
it; so be it ! 



SERMON. 

BY 

T. T. EATON. 



SERMON. 

"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven 
is perfect." — Matt. v. 48. 



THOSE who have spoken to you so elo- 
quently and well for the past two days, 
have told you of what God hath wrought in and 
through this Church during the century of its 
existence. They have recalled for you the past. 
I come to point you to the future, and to hold 
up before you a noble aim for which to strive — 
" Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father 
which is in heaven is perfect." 

No people have ever risen to greatness who 
did not place before their youth some ideal for 
which to strive. The ideal may never be real- 
ized; it would not deserve the name if it could 
be fully reached: but it is the point toward 
which all struggle, the model after which each 
man strives most earnestly. Show me what the 
ideal of any nation is, and I can tell you, to a 
great extent, the character of that people. And 
26 297 



298 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

one of the most important duties of rulers and 
teachers of men is to erect some noble standard 
by which all shall be judged, and praised or 
blamed, as they approximate or deviate from it. 
Glance with me over the history of the world, 
and see the ideals of the nations, the results 
which followed their adoption, and the inherent 
defects in each, The great problem has ever 
been to make man perfect as is possible — to 
reach the highest stature of perfected man- 
hood. And the difference is only in what con- 
stitutes true manhood, and the means by which 
it is to be attained. You may be very sure 
that there can be no noble nation whose ideal 
does not contain some of the qualities necessary 
to a perfected manhood. 

The ideal of the Greeks was one of perfect 
beauty — physical beauty primarily, and in this 
their success was what we might expect to find. 
No people ever lived who carried their physical 
frame to such a height of perfection as did the 
Greeks. They studied and obeyed the great 
laws which govern health and beauty; they 
encouraged strength and grace by every means 
in their power, making their crowns, for skill in 
games requiring strength and agility, an honor 
and a glory, for which' men sought earnestly; 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 



299 



and placing before their young men and maidens 
the perfection of physical beauty, in the statues 
of their divinities, as models to be imitated and 
reached, if possible. 

As a natural result, no nation of earth has 
ever reached so high a type of physical beauty. 
To this day, amid the dwarfed, maimed, stunted 
bodies of men around us, our sculptors and 
painters can find no ideal for manly beauty or 
womanly grace, but are compelled to study the 
works of Phidias, Zeuxis, and other ancient 
artists; and we can find no higher comparison 
than to say of a face or a figure: "It is as 
beautiful as a Greek statue." They strove, too, 
for mental and moral beauty, as well as for that 
of the body, but with less success. There were 
far-reaching laws of mind and spirit which they 
could not grasp so readily as the physical laws. 
They laid down noble systems, but did not place 
before their youth those systems embodied in 
concrete forms. 

Physically, the beauty of Apollo was flawless; 
morally, the character of the god was far from 
perfect manhood. The results upon the young 
could not fail to be disastrous ; and the Greeks 
grew by degrees too much devoted to physical 
beauty, in which they excelled, and moral 



3<DO CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

strength dwindled, while mental effort was con- 
fined too much to subtle disquisitions; and their 
nation fell before the Roman power. Their 
ideal was not perfect; but, such as it was, they 
reached it as no other people have ever done, 
and stand alone, high types of physical beauty, 
which, desirable indeed, is far from constituting 
perfect manhood. 

The ideal of manliness among the Romans 
was one of courage and obedience to law — two 
most noble and essential traits of character, 
which made a great nation out of scattered 
bands of robbers. The world seldom sees such 
soldiers as these iron men, reared from their 
childhood to see all disgrace in cowardice and 
insubordination, and all honor in bravery and 
discipline. The models placed for the imitation 
of Roman vouth were that Brutus, who in obe- 
dience to the majesty of law, condemned his 
own sons to the death they deserved, and saw 
the penalty inflicted without a falter; and that 
embodiment of courage, Horatius, who faced 
the enemy that had defeated the entire army in 
the field, and fought their whole force without 
one thought for his own safety, so only he could 
make his life last for the struggle till the bridge 
was down and the city saved. Discipline and 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 301 

courage ! no wonder men led by such an ideal 
conquered the whole world. Our earth has 
never seen a nobler race of men, as a race, 
than those old Roman patricians, who welded 
all Italy into a sword for the world's conquest, 
and made it the proudest of boasts, " I am a 
Roman citizen " — a boast even an inspired 
Apostle was glad to make. And as we look 
back upon their nobility and greatness, we sigh 
to think that their obedience could not have 
been directed to the law of God, and their cour- 
age against the evil in the world, rather than 
against Gauls and Germans. Since their ideal 
had two great virtues, it made of them a great 
people, and in these points for which they strove 
they surpassed all other nations, as the Greeks 
did in beauty. As their ideal was defective, so 
in time it failed them : the courage of the old 
Romans became cruelty and brutality, their dis- 
cipline made them obedient, not to righteous 
law, rightly enacted, but to the command of any 
victorious general who led their legions ; and, 
when thus their ideal was changed and lowered, 
their national life went with it, and Rome be- 
came but the garnished sepulchre of her 
ancient greatness. 

Two ideals swayed Europe during the Mid- 
26* 



302 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

die Ages, the monk and the knight. Evil as 
have been the results of the monastery, there 
was in the institution originally a great truth, 
or it would never have gained the hold upon 
the world which it possessed. Falsehood is 
weak ; no system entirely false could control 
men's lives ; and the great systems of false re- 
ligion have succeeded, not because of their 
falsity, but because of the truth that was in 
them, which bore up their falsehood and made 
it powerful and dangerous. There was an es- 
sential element of true manhood in the ideal of 
the monk, however many errors were mingled 
with his theology, and however mistaken' the 
means by which he sought to reach that ideal. 
The monastery was founded upon the great 
necessity of keeping in subjection the body 
with its passions and appetites — a necessity I 
fear we heed too little in these days, erring as 
far upon one side as the monk erred upon the 
other. For be assured the Apostle Paul meant 
something more than idle declamation, when he 
bade Christians to "crucify the flesh." It is 
the Holy Spirit that classes " the flesh " with 
" the world," and " the devil," as one of the 
three great enemies alike of piety and high 
manhood. One of Paul's ofreatest fears was 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 303 

lest, failing to keep under his body, he should 
be found to have fought in vain. "The lust of 
the flesh " is one of the chief sources of sin, 
and indeed all through the Epistles no duty is 
oftener or more earnestly enforced upon Chris- 
tians than that of crucifying the flesh. Now 
crucifixion is not passive, but active; not the 
mere denial of gratification, but the actual in- 
fliction of suffering, and this is what the old 
monks strove to do. It is no delight in suffer- 
ing or crucifixion which makes a merciful and 
loving Saviour give such harsh orders about 
the flesh, but that it is a great tempter of the 
soul. How many of the sins of which we are 
guilty — I mean outward sins and not evil ten- 
dencies — would a disembodied spirit have no 
temptation to commit ? Take our bodies from 
us to-day, and all human legal enactments 
would be useless, all the second table of the 
law would pass away with the temptation to 
violate it. The ideal of the monks was right 
in the point of the necessity for crucifying the 
flesh, but wrong in the means they used to 
reach that desirable end — but, believe me, God 
will honor more their honest effort to keep the 
body in subjection, than, the modern refusal to 
crucify it at all. 



304 CELEBRATION OF TEE FIRST CENTENARY. 

The sins are legion which come from over- 
feeding or too high feeding of the body, and 
there is no more powerful defense against their 
attacks, nothing of greater avail in lessening 
their power, than the great duty of fasting, so 
often practised by Christ and the Apostles, so 
much considered a matter of course, that Jesus 
says, "when ye fast," as he says, " when ye 
pray," as if these were two duties his people 
would not think of omitting, and they therefore 
needed direction how to perform them accepta- 
bly rather than a commandment to do them. I 
fear, in this great duty of fasting, the churches 
are shamefully remiss, and the consequences of 
their failure are wide-spread over the earth to- 
day. Every commandment hath its peculiar 
blessing — its virtue, which it is designed to pro- 
mote, and which can be accomplished by obedi- 
ence to it, and it alone. This duty of crucifying 
the body hath its blessing of purity, to be at- 
tained in no other way, and uncleanness rules 
pampered bodies with a power which is well 
nigh irresistible. The Greeks gave their youth 
simple food and frequent fasts, in order to en- 
sure to them that physical beauty which was 
their ideal. The Romans did the same, that 
they might be brave to endure hardship as well 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 30 5 

as to face clanger, and strong to be conquerors 
and rulers of their own propensities, that no 
passion should interfere with their obedience to 
law. Shall Christians, with nobler aims, do 
less ? 

The monkish ideal was right on this point — 
right, too, in seeking to conquer fleshly lusts by 
simple food and fasting ; but wrong, when, 
going beyond this, they strove to weaken mus- 
cular power as well as evil desires. They had 
their reward, however, in the success they 
achieved. Their orders spread rapidly over 
Europe, and their efforts to convert the heathen 
to at least as true a religion as they themselves 
knew, succeeded as no subsequent efforts of 
men bearing a purer doctrine have ever done. 
They had great strength to labor — great powers 
of endurance and a stern imperviousness to 
many temptations, which they would never 
have had but for the ideal they followed. What 
was wealth to a man whose clothing was rou^h 
hair garments, who wore no ornaments, owned 
no house to adorn, and ate only the cheapest 
food ? Bribery of such men was impossible. 
For them, avarice had no power ; luxury, no 
charms ; and poverty, no terror. So long as 
they were true to their ideal, so long the truth 



306 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

that was in it brought its reward ; and as we 
read their history we sigh to think that they 
should not have loved and served God, instead 
of the Pope ; prayed to Christ, instead of to 
images and the Virgin ; believed in justification 
by faith, instead of absolution at priestly hands; 
and learned the great lesson of crucifying the 
body out in the world, bearing a man's part and 
doing a man's work for the souls of men, 
instead of flying from the battle-field to hermit- 
age and monastery. But their ideal was im- 
perfect ; carried too far, it overthrew itself in 
the scourging and nail-wearing which became 
unendurable ; and in the rebound, they ceased 
from their fight against the flesh, gave up their 
simple diet and homely vestments, and became 
corrupt and corrupting. The light that was in 
them, from obedience to that one command- 
ment, became darkness ; and how great that 
darkness was, let their after history tell us. 

While the monks placed before themselves 
the ideal of spiritual power, strengthened by 
overcoming the flesh, the laymen strove to reach 
the knightly ideal, the noblest of all which man 
has ever invented — nay, which would have been 
impossible to man alone, and has borrowed its 
noblest features from the oracles of God. The 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 307 

ideal of chivalry was courage, mercy, truth, and 
fidelity, founded on faith and obedience ; and 
the results of this ideal, when acting upon 
noble natures, are seen in the characters of 
Bayard and Sydney. Fourteen years of his life 
the young knight spent in learning that great 
foundation lesson — obedience; and with it 
humility, in the menial services he must per- 
form as page and squire. All through his 
course, religious duties were his constant por- 
tion, and dependence on God was strictly 
inculcated. And to be generous and merciful 
was as mucha duty and a gloryas to be brave and 
renowned in war. To have succored the needy, 
relieved the suffering, and freed the oppressed, 
made a man as honorable as to have captured 
a city, or routed an army. 

The face of Europe changed under the power 
of this ideal: cruelty became an object of blame 
rather than of praise ; self-sacrificing devotion 
took the place of selfish rapacity as an object 
to be striven for by the young. It was a useless 
and wicked waste of time and treasure and 
blood to endeavor to drive the Turks out of 
Palestine ; but he was a far nobler man who 
left his home and its comforts behind him to go 
into a distant land to encounter certain danger 



333 CELEBRATION OE THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

and probable death in' his love and reverence 
for the tomb of Christ, than the man who has 
indeed no Paynim blood upon his hands, but 
whose life is spent in money-making and self- 
aggrandizement. The knightly ideal was shad- 
owed, alas, by the blighting errors of the Papacy, 
and flawed by its too great faith in physical 
blows and the power of the sword. But in spite 
of these great errors, it was a glorious model 
for the youth of Europe, and brought forth 
fruits which we are enjoying to-day. But as 
their ideal faded before their eyes, pride took 
the place of humility, and poverty became 
riches, and the knights became in their turn 
oppressors. Then the institution of chivalry 
became a jest and a reproach, to be buried with 
their unwieldy armor and their stately courtesy; 
not, however, until its grand ideal had perished, 
and the spirit had passed away, leaving the dead 
body of an empty pageantry. 

If you will study closely the history of the 
world, you will find, as I said in the beginning, 
that every living nation must have its ideal; 
that it will surely rise in those virtues with 
which it invests its ideal of true manhood ; 
that a noble people form for themselves ever a 
noble ideal, however, they may err in the means 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 309 

they use to bring their youth to that standard. 
It is an ignoble people which has a base ideal ; 
and a hopeless people which has none ; and 
when the ideal is set aside or lowered it is an 
unmistakable symptom of national decay and 
death. No matter how wealthy and prosper- 
ous, in seeming, the nation may be, corruption 
has begun; the tree of life is hollow-hearted, 
notwithstanding all the brave show of foliage it 
puts forth. 

In ancient and medieval times, it is easy to 
see what was the object men set themselves to 
strive for; and, under all this imagined ex- 
cellence, we find that the controlling purpose 
was to make humanity perfect. Man was him- 
self the highest end; to raise the race to great- 
ness and nobility was the purpose of all their 
effort. They differed in their ideas of what 
would accomplish this great purpose of human 
perfection. The Greek strove to make of man 
an Apollo ; the Roman, a soldier ; the medie- 
val, a monk or knight ; but the central thought 
with each was to make man perfect. 

Now, turning our eyes from the past to the 
present, let us see what is the ideal before our 
people. What is the standard they have es- 
tablished for which their young men are to 
27 



3 I O CELEB R A TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 

strive ? I do not ask, what ideal they should 
have, nor what they profess to have ; just as I 
did not take the ideals of the Greeks and 
Romans from the theories of their philosophers 
or the dreams of their poets ; but what is the 
type of manhood, which in reality is most hon- 
ored in the world to-day. 

The first thing which strikes us as we look 
into the actual lives of the nations, is that the 
foundation principle has been changed; the 
central thought is no more to make man per- 
fect, but to make imperfect man comfortable. 
There is the diameter of the moral universe 
between these two ideas. The more you 
think of them, the more closely you examine 
them in every point, and consider the influence 
they have upon the race, the more clearly you 
will see how antagonistic they are. Which is 
the grander motive for action ? Which is the 
nobler desire — to be perfect, or to be comfort- 
able ? I do not contend that the ancients and 
medievals made men perfect — nay, they fell far 
short of it ; but that was the object for which 
they strove — the ideal they placed before their 
youth. Neither can it be claimed that the 
moderns have made men comfortable, — for 
never was the race more restless; but only that 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 3 I I 

is the ideal excellence for which they are striving. 
It is to be remembered, just here, that no nation 
ever rises higher than its ideal ; and imagine, if 
you can, the results which must follow from the 
change which modern practicalness has made in 
the object of endeavor. Observe, also, that the 
modern does not object to any perfection which 
does not interfere with comfort, nor did the 
ancient object to any comfort which did not in- 
terfere with perfection, only the primary idea of 
the latter was to make man perfect, and of the 
former to make imperfect man comfortable. 

And what are the means to be used to 
acquire this comfort ? What is the ideal man 
whom we must imitate ? To be comfortable, 
one must have money ; the ideal man is he who 
can make it most rapidly. Everything which 
does not conduce to this great end is deemed 
visionary, impractical, and wanting in common 
sense. This ideal has infected the schools, and 
teaches the youth that education is to be made 
entirely subservient to " getting on in the 
world;" that, no matter how much certain stu- 
dies may improve and elevate the intellect, they 
must be omitted if they can be turned to no 
commercial value afterwards ; for that the 
object of an education is not to make the mind 



3 I 2 CELEB R A TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 

perfect as is possible, but to teach the man to 
make money, that he may be comfortable. Is 
not the world to-day one race-course, in which 
the prize is a purse ? Here and there a man 
like Agassiz is found to refuse to join such a 
race, to answer an offer which would have 
brought him wealth, " Gentlemen, I have not 
time to make money ;" but they are sneered at 
as visionary enthusiasts, as not up with the age, 
and as the Don Quixotes of modern society. 
If we were required to give a concrete form to 
the great ideals of the nations, would we not 
say, Theseus for the Greek, Brutus for the Ro- 
man, Hugo of Lincoln and Bayard for the 
medieval, A. T. Stewart and Cornelius Vander- 
bilt for the modern? In most sorrowful earnest- 
ness is not this true ? And if the nobility of 
the nations is tested by the ideals they follow, 
how in point of manhood shall we rank this 
generation, in spite of its material comforts and 
modern improvements ? Look honestly through 
all the smoke of the incense this age has burned 
to its own glorification, through the halo of 
vanity which surrounds its boasted progress; 
close your ears to the paeans it is singing to its 
own greatness and power, and decide calmly as 
to the nobility of its aims, and the true value of 
the comfort for which it strives. 



CELEBRA TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 313 

" For we throw acclamations of self-thanking, self-admiring, 
With, at every mile — ' run faster — oh, the wondrous, won- 
drous age !' 
Little thinking if we work our SOULS as nobly as our iron, 
Or if angels will commend us at the goal of pilgrimage. 

" If we trod the deeps of ocean, if we struck the stars in 

rising, 
If we wrapped the globe intensely with one hot electric 

breath, 
'T were but power within our tether, no new spirit power 

comprising, 
And in life we were not greater men, nor nobler men in 

death." 

There is the ideal for which we should strive 
— to be greater men in life and nobler men in 
death. But we can never be great or noble, 
until we place before us a noble standard of 
manhood, and strive with our might to bring 
ourselves and our race to that standard. Here 
is the great work which the churches owe to the 
world to-day ; it is a work which must be done 
if the life of the nations is to be saved, and 
there is no power, save in the churches of Christ, 
from which there is any hope of health. Men 
must be oqven a lwher ideal ; it were far better 
that they go back to those former ages than 
continue to follow the ideal now set before 
them. If we must be idolaters, Apollo and 
Mars are nobler divinities than Plutus. But 

27* 



314 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

there is no need to return to those imperfect 
standards, deep as is the need of quitting the 
worship of Mammon and ceasing to find our 
highest type of manhood in Dives, Demas, and 
Simon Magus. We have in the Bible an ideal, 
as far above the money-making one, as heaven 
is above the earth — "Be ye therefore perfect, 
even as your Father which is in heaven is per- 
fect." The ancients were right then in their 
central thought ; the Scriptures side with them, 
that it is better and nobler to make man perfect 
than to make imperfect man comfortable ; but 
they tell us, as Greek wisdom and Roman law 
could not do, how to make man perfect. 

" As your Father which is in heaven is per- 
fect." There, brethren, is the ideal to place 
before ourselves and the world. We shall 
never reach it,- — it is a poor ideal which can be 
reached, — but what, think you, would be the 
effect upon the world if every man strove hon- 
estly to become like God ? Man was made in 
God's image, is the finite representation of his 
infinite qualities. God made man upright, 
and the perfection of manhood is to abandon 
the "many inventions" man has sought out, 
and seek a^ain to be a true ima^e of the Al- 
mighty. This is the ideal, brethren, which we 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 3 I 5 

must substitute for the ignoble one men are 
now striving to reach. And we must impress 
upon the world that to seek this resemblance 
to God is not only the duty of the Christian, 
but the glory of him who is striving for true 
manhood ; — that to be a man involves neces- 
sarily this resemblance to God. Begin in your 
own hearts and in your own homes. Do not 
let your children grow up thinking they may 
indulge in sin and pursue selfishly this modern 
ideal of the money-loving world, till they be- 
come Christians, and that then the Holy Spirit 
will change them. Teach them that all sin and 
all selfishness degrade their manhood ; that 
apart from religion, all that is highest and 
noblest in them calls on them to be honorable 
and truthful, pure and self-sacrificing. 

We boast of the wonderful progress the 
world has made in a century ; of our ma- 
chinery; our inventions and discoveries ; and of 
our improved facilities, which our fathers lacked. 
During the past two days you have heard, told 
in eloquent language, of the great progress this 
Church has made in the hundred years of its 
history, and I would join my thanksgiving with 
yours for all that God has done in and through 
this noble band of Christians ; but, after all, 



3 I 6 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

the question comes — Are we better men and 
women than those who lived a century ago? Do 
all our improved processes and facilities give 
the world nobler and holier people than those 
who laid the foundations on which we are 
building ? This is the great question before 
us ; it is the one measure of real progress. 

It is not possible for humanity to stand still; 
placed as it is, between the beasts and God, it 
must either become more beastly or more god- 
like. And nothing is more beastly in its ten- 
dency than the ideal of comfort, or, as it is 
sometimes put, " to have a good time," as the 
object of life. This ideal is debasing and de- 
grading beyond the power of language to ex- 
press. There is not a swine wallowing in the 
mire in all the earth that is not doine all he 
can, "to have a good time;" and if this is the 
aim of a man's life wherein is he essentially 
better than a swine, for all the greater variety 
of food and occupation within his reach? Oh! 
brethren, let us rise above the swine, who care 
nothing for the perfection of swinehood, so 
their food is abundant and their sty comforta- 
ble. And I beg of you as a Church, to take 
this perfection of the Father which w T e are bid- 
den to imitate — take his justice, his mercy, his 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR K 317 

wisdom, his truth, his holiness, and his love, as 
revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord, and hold 
them up as an ideal before the world, so that 
all men may strive to reach that standard, be- 
cause it is the embodiment of all that is great 
and noble and lofty within the reach of hu- 
manity. A grand work this, for the Churches 
of Christ, but a work we can never accomplish 
— never! — by simply telling men "here is a 
noble ideal for you to follow." Greek and 
Roman, monk and knight, did not simply advo- 
cate their ideals for the rest of the world; they 
would only have excited contempt, and no one 
would have believed that their pretended ad- 
miration was anything but a farce ; — but they 
strove themselves to reach their ideals. And 
men will never be moved, save to derision for 
our hypocrisy, if we plead with them to be per- 
fect as our Father in heaven is perfect, and are 
not ourselves putting forth every exertion to 
reach as near as possible to that perfection. 
Oh! brethren, if we fail to do this; if our lives 
show that our words are empty mockery ; if 
God receives our lips and Mammon our hearts 
and hands ; if we too honor the man who is 
successful in business, and look with contempt 
upon such men as Agassiz who have no time to 
make money; if we agree that the great object 



31 8 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

is not to make man perfect, but to make him 
comfortable, giving gain the preference over 
nobility, heroism, and self-sacrifice, what will be- 
come of the world ? If the liorht that is in the 
earth be darkness, how great is that darkness! 
You stand a band nine hundred strong. If 
Christ's words abide in you, with greater 
strength and better opportunities than your 
fathers had, your achievements will be more 
glorious and far-reaching. Go forward then, 
brethren, step by step ; so do armies march, so 
are victories won. This whole Church fighting 
bravely for Jesus would be a grand, soul-stir- 
ring sight. Take courage to-night, from the 
past God has given you, — from the opportuni- 
ties that are present, — from the promises for 
the future which the Bible offers you. Resolve 
that every year, till you lay your armor down, 
shall see you living nearer to God, growing 
purer and purer, truer and truer, stronger and 
stronger in his service ; and this Church ever 
advancing, ever victorious, shall look forth over 
the strongholds of sin cast down, the walls of 
error fallen, the powers of darkness beaten, 
and she shall be seen, by all who look upon 
her forward march in her strength and beauty, 
" fair as the moon, clear as the sun and terrible 
as an army with banners." 



EXTEMPORE ADDRESSES 

BY 

THOS. HUME, Jr., 

W. H. WILLIAMS, 

J. WM. JONES, 

J. B. HAWTHORNE, Pastor. 



ADDRESS. 

By THOMAS HUME, Jr. 



I AM happy to answer this unexpected call 
and pay the unstudied tribute of a grateful 
heart amidst the common rejoicing. A 
" declaration of love " is nothing, if not per- 
sonal. I need not, then, ask your indulgence 
for saying that, when, a boy of fifteen, I left my 
home for Richmond College, this Church and 
its school were the chosen haunts of my soul. 
I found a warm place in the family of the de- 
voted man of God (Dr. Robt. Ryland), who is 
here, crowned with our reverence and love, the 
same serenely brave, patient, single-eyed cham- 
pion of truth and righteousness he ever was ; 
and afterward the tender watch-care of another 
household of faith (Deacon Richard Reins') 
cheered my heart and steadied my steps. Your 
cordial hospitality everywhere took me by the 
hand. God blessed and strengthened me 
28 321 



32 2 CEL EBRA TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 

through the rich associations it was my privi- 
lege to form, and many a noble type of charac- 
ter stamped itself on the sensitive young nature. 

Such a training-school was it for many of us, 
in Christian experience, in church duties, in 
general religious plans, that no wonder we "rise 
up and call you blessed" in having blessed those 
who are to minister to others. All about us 
are humble workers who have accepted your 
generous invitation to this high festival, and 
who thank you for the inspiration it imparts. 
We will go back to our narrower fields of duty 
re-animated against depression ; and, when 
tempted to grow weary in well-doing, the mem- 
ory of your victorious review will keep off the 
sense of isolation and breed a healthful esprit 
de corps in the worn soldier. We feel that you 
belong to us as Christians, as Baptists, that we 
too are of that vast sacramental host of which 
you form so honorable and useful a part. We 
turn our believing gaze to the shining height 
on which your enterprise and devotion have 
planted our standard and struggle upward with 
undampened ardor. 

Who was not comforted as he listened to the 
roll-call of worthies who " fought a good fight 
and kept the faith, " traveling on life's common 



CELEBRA TION OF THE FIRST CENTENAR Y. 323 

way in cheerful godliness ?" We saw that every 
kind of work and workman is needed and used 
by the Master, and the beautiful record of de- 
voted laymen, some of them with no great fame 
in the outer world, but whose names are in the 
Lamb's book of life, both challenges our admi- 
ration and nerves us to take fresh heart of 
grace. Amid the apathy of professed followers 
of Christ, and the coldness and despair of a 
sneering materialism, their springing hope, their 
exceptional purity, their fidelity to principle, 
their deathless influence, gleams forth as the 
indestructible evidence of our Christianity ; and 
we say, as we study their career: " This is the 
victory that overcometh the world, even faith." 

" Oh, though oft depressed and lonely, 
All our fears are laid aside, 
If we but remember only 
Such as these have lived and died." 

It is well, honored Pastor and friends, that 
the key-note of to-night's services was struck 
by the noble sermon on the Christian Ideal. 
Memory is dear, but Hope still dearer. You 
have been reciting your history. You are to 
go forward now to make new history. The 
life of the believer and the Church has more to 
do with that which is to come. " It is good," as 



324 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 



Robertson says, " to have had a glorious Past ; 
far better to have a glorious Future." This 
hundred-year old mother is vigorous and flour- 
ishing. The fresh life-blood pouring into her 
veins is ever renewing her youth. With anew 
Pastor you take a new departure, and will win 
new fruitful fields for Jesus, our King. Amongst 
the swelling tide of congratulations bearing 
prayer and hope to the Centenary feast, amongst 
your smiles and tears, I thank you that I am 
permitted to pour my libation on your shrine 
and bid you good cheer. 



ADDRESS. 

By W. H. WILLIAMS. 



THE Pastor has just announced that the clos- 
ing exercise of this interesting occasion 
would consist of "declarations of love" from 
some of the young men. I thank him for this 
manner of introduction. Had I been thus un- 
expectedly called upon for " a speech," I should 
have felt it my duty to decline. But it would be 
ungrateful in me to hesitate to declare my af- 
fection for my Mother Church. 

No man living has greater reason to love her 
than I. Here, in early childhood, I first heard 
the sound of the preacher's voice. When too 
small to understand scarcely anything that was 
said, I was brought here. Well do I remember 
that when my mother sometimes quietly re- 
strained me from whispering in church, my 
childish spirit rebelled, because the preacher, 
Dr. Jeter, could talk as much as he chose, while 

28* 325 



326 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

I was not permitted to say a word. From that 
time onward this church has been interwoven 
with many of the most sacred experiences of 
my life. Around this building do the sweetest 
and saddest memories cluster. 

In a little room, in what was then the rear of 
the church, on a certain Saturday night, at a 
Young Men's Prayer Meeting, conducted, I 
think, by John McCarthy, I first found peace in 
believing. I recall the new delight with which, 
on the next morning, I worshipped in this very 
room, while with happy heart I repeated a thou- 
sand times, the passage, "the love of Christ con- 
straineth us." Here I was baptized by our 
brother, B. Manly, Jr., who is now with us. On 
the spot where I now stand, I was solemnly 
ordained to the work of the gospel ministry. 
The charge, solemn and impressive and still 
remembered, was delivered by our lamented 
Dr. Jeter, whose speaking portrait is here be- 
fore you. 

As I look over the congregation to-night, 
memory fills many of these seats with loved 
forms which are no more. Just there is the 
family pew. In imagination I see it occupied 
by father, mother, and other dear ones, who are 
now sleeping in Hollywood. 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY, 



327 



I remember, too, the young men of the 
church. There was true and noble George 
Leftvvich, who cheerfully sacrificed the brightest 
prospects and even life itself at the call of duty. 
And there, too, was Harrison Watkins, who not 
long since exchanged the active duties of a 
vigorous Christian manhood for the rest of 
heaven. Ah ! how would these, and many 
others who might be mentioned, rejoice in these 
sacred festivities ! 

We have been charmed with the delightful 
music rendered during this Celebration. But 
even now sweet melodies of other days come 
stealing back to my ears. You well remember 
how, at the close of our communion seasons, 
when new members had been received, James 
C. Crane used to step out of his pew over 
there, and with hymn-book in hand, and tear in 
eye, would walk down the aisle to the front, 
and, giving his hand to every newly-received 
member, sing ; 

" Come in thou blessed of the Lord," with the chorus, 
" We welcome thee with one accord 
Our friends, our brethren." 

Never until I reach heaven do I expect to hear 
music which shall thrill my soul more thoroughly 
than did that. 



328 CEL EBRA TION OF THE FIRS T CEN TEN A R Y. 

One element of strength in the Church has 
not been mentioned. She has ever given her 
young men cordial sympathy, and she has been 
wonderfully successful in awakening their en- 
thusiastic attachment. 

I remember seasons of perplexity when my 
burdens were lightened and my duty made 
plain by the sympathy and counsel of older 
brethren. In many of our churches there is an 
impassable gulf between the older and younger 
members. It was never so here. There has 
always been in this Church a number of breth- 
ren, more advanced in life, whom the younger 
members have regarded with filial confidence 
and affection. To this fact I attribute largely 
the success of the Church. God grant that this 
state of things may continue. 

At this very hour there are men all over the 
face of the earth, who, because of past delight- 
ful association, turn with tender interest to this 
Church. For her they never cease to pray. 
When she weeps their tears flow, and when 
she rejoices they are filled with delight. 

I beg you brethren, do not forget, in your 
prayers the young men you have sent forth. 
Surely, the mother will not be unmindful of her 
sons. 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 329 

With such memories crowding upon me, my 
heart overflows with love to this dear Church, 
and my tongue refuses to utter all I feel. 

I love to think of the future of this Church. 
A hundred years of her history have been com- 
pleted. I cannot tell her coming struggles, but 
I may forecast her final triumph. The " Old 
First Church," with her long line of sons and 
daughters, shall join with the heavenly host in 
the grand chorus, " Worthy is the Lamb." 
Should I be numbered among that blessed as- 
sembly, not least of all will I thank God for 
such spiritual ancestry as he has given me, and 
while I live on earth I shall never cease to pray, 
" God bless my dear old Mother Church !" 



ADDRESS. 

By J. WILLIAM JONES. 



I HAVE been quietly enjoying the exercises 
of this grand Centennial, with no expecta- 
tion that I should be honored with even the 
humblest part in the programme. 

But since I am thus called on I esteem it a 
privilege to be permitted to stand on this plat- 
form to express the very great pleasure I have 
had in all of these exercises — to congratulate 
this noble old Church on the splendid success 
of her Celebration — and to express the fond 
hope, and fervent prayer that her glorious past 
may be but the earnest of a yet more glorious 
future during the century she has just entered. 
While it has never been my lot to be in any 
way connected with this Church, it has been my 
privilege, within the past few years, to minister 
somewhat frequently in her pulpit, to join in 
her worship, and to mingle with her member- 
330 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 33 I 

ship. Having thus some opportunity of know- 
ing the Church, I have been struck by the har- 
mony of feeling — the unity of purpose — the 
concert of action — which seems so pre-eminent- 
ly to characterize the membership. They some- 
times differ, of course, as to measures, and have 
in their meetings warm discussions, in which 
each individual expresses his opinion with the 
emphasis and independence which is the glory 
of our Baptist faith. But, when the Church has 
once decided, it is beautiful to witness the spirit 
of concession and fraternal kindness in which 
the opposing parties come together, and stand 
together, and work together "in the unity of the 
Spirit and the bond of peace" — for the good of 
the Church and the glory of God. . 

And this same is true of the Baptists of 
Richmond and of Virginia. It has been long a 
subject of remark, that among the Baptist Pas- 
tors of Richmond and of Virginia there has 
been no petty jealousy, no unseemly rivalry, 
no discordant differences, but a personal affec- 
tion, a loving sympathy, and a hearty co-opera- 
tion, as beautiful as it has been promotive of the 
advancement of the cause we love. 

In his able address on the "Deceased Pastors 
of the Church," Dr. Thomas remarked on the 



332 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

harmony and affection which existed between 
old Father Courtney and his Assistant Pastors. 
And in his admirable address last night Dr. 
Hatcher remarked on the power and influence 
which the old First Church has always had in 
giving tone to the spirit, and shaping the policy 
and plans of the Baptists of Richmond and 
of Virginia. Now who shall say how far this 
spirit of harmony is due to those grand old men 
who struck the key-note years ago, and left an 
impress on the Church which has influenced the 
Baptists of Richmond and of Virginia, and 
brought about the state of fraternity which we 
witness, and for which we thank God to-day ? 

Blessed spirit of harmony and peace ! Blessed 
Church that has promoted it ! May it continue, 
and widen, and deepen, as the years of the next 
century go on ! 



CONCLUDING ADDRESS 

BY J. B. HAWTHORNE, Pastor. 



WE have reached the conclusion of this 
celebration. For two days we have com- 
muned with the past. We have heard with 
grateful hearts the story of God's dealings with 
our fathers. We have seen how from extreme 
feebleness we have risen to great power. En- 
riched by the wisdom, and inspired by the ex- 
amples of those who have gone before us in 
the good fight of faith, let us now turn our 
thoughts upon the future. Time past is past 
forever. It can never serve us again. 

" Listen to the water-mill all the live-long day, 

How the creaking of the wheels wears the hours away ! 

Languidly the water glides ceaseless on and still, 

Never coming back again to the water-mill ! 

And a proverb haunts my mind as the spell is cast — 

The mill will never grind again 

With the water that is past." 

Let it be our purpose and ambition to make 
2 9 333 



334 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 



the most of that part of life which is before us ; 
let us crowd into it all that we possibly can of 
service to God, and of good to man. Let us 
bequeath to posterity as rich a legacy as has 
been left to us. 



III. 
SUPPLEMENTARY STATISTICS 



AND 



STATEMENTS. 



SUPPLEMENT. 

FINANCES AND PROPERTY. 



FORMERLY the Finances of the Church 
were conducted by the Deacons. At pres- 
ent, all monetary interests, except the funds 
for the poor, are managed by a Finance Com- 
mittee. The income of the Church is acquired 
by pew-rents, and by voluntary contributions in 
envelopes every Sunday morning and night. 
The collections of eight Sunday mornings in 
the year are devoted to benevolent objects, 
which are stated on the envelopes of the days 
assigned for these objects respectively. The 
current expenses of the Church are some seven 
thousand dollars per annum. This sum seems 
relatively large, as $3950 is reported as the 
yearly charities — for Missions and the poor. 
But, the church-books indicate only a small part 
of the donations of the Church. Scores of 
thousands of dollars are known to have been 

29* 337 



338 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

given by members of the Church to various 
benevolent objects, of which there is no record, 
except in the courts of heaven. The present 
Finance Committee are: John C. Williams, A. 
P. Fox, Charles T. Davis, Robert W. Powers, 
Patrick H. Starke, Peter W. Grubbs, John G. 
Spotts, John A. Belvin. 

In compliance with the laws of Virginia, the 
property of the Church is vested in a Board of 
Trustees, as follows: 

R. H. Bosher, James Thomas, Jr., Christopher 
Walthall, Coleman Wortham, John C. Stanard, 
R. W. Powers, Josiah Ryland. 

POOR OF THE CHURCH. 

The fund for the poor is raised by a monthly 
collection, at each communion season, and a 
general annual collection. Deacon Wm. G. 
Dandridge, Treasurer of this fund, has furnished 
the following paper: 

The Church recognizes distinctly her obligation to care for 
Christ's poor. About seven hundred and fifty dollars are an- 
nually appropriated to this purpose. The distribution is made 
mostly in money ; sometimes in provisions ; and chiefly by the 
Deacons. But valuable aid in this direction is afforded by the 
ladies individually and through their societies. 

Districts are assigned to the Deacons, who visit the poor 
within their limits, systematically. Members of the Church, 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 339 

especially the ladies, also visit certain persons, of the poor, in 
whom they take a special interest. There are about twenty 
poor members of the Church who are more or less constant re- 
cipients of her bounty. 

That the benefactions of the Church may be bestowed only 
on the disabled and really needy, all practicable caution and 
inquiry are employed in the dispensation of alms. The bene- 
ficiaries of the fund are, therefore, generally worthy persons 
and deserving of charity. Miss Lucy Courtney, a grand- 
daughter of Rev. John Courtney, one of our former beloved 
Pastors, has been for many years blind and deaf. These in- 
firmities, with advancing age, utterly incapacitate her for self- 
support. Hence she has, for a long period, gratefully and 
meritoriously received the cheerful support of the Church. She- 
is a Christian of deep piety, and genial, submissive spirit, 
evincing a lively interest in the welfare of the Church, to 
which she is much attached. Visitors to the lonely room of 
this afflicted yet joyous saint, have often magnified God's sus- 
taining grace, and bidden her farewell with suffused eyes and 
confirmed faith. She is eighty-eight years old. 

The Church accepts the assurance of her Saviour that she 
will always have the poor with her ; and that what she does 
unto one of the least of his little ones will be regarded as done 
unto him. 

LIBRARY, INFANT CLASS, AND OFFICERS OF SUNDAY- 
SCHOOL. 

In a recent refitting of the Sunday-school 
Rooms, with fountains and other improve- 
ments for health and ornamentation, the Li- 
brary Department was enlarged, reorganized, 
and beautified. It is now a model as to conveni- 
ence of arrangement and facility for distributing 



340 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

and preserving the books. The school is in- 
debted for re-systematizing and improvement 
mainly to Mr. Carlton McCarthy, the Librarian 
of the School. 

The Infant Class has been called " the pet " 
of the school. The ensuing notes are pro- 
vided by the late Assistant Saperintendent of 
the school, Deacon A. P. Fox: 

"The Infant Class was organized in January or February 
of 1859, by Mrs. Abby M. Gwathmey. At first, there were 
twelve pupils. The number increasing, the class was divided. 
Mrs. Gwathmey retained the girls, and C. P. Burruss took 
charge of the boys. In the month of June, on account of the 
sickness of Mrs. Gwathmey, the entire class was put under the 
care of Mr. Burruss. Under his direction the average attend- 
ance was about twenty pupils. He was succeeded by William 
Forbes, under whom the children numbered between twenty 
and forty. E. Gathright had a fuller class. Mrs. Mary W. 
Curry followed Mr. Gathright, and has had charge of the class 
for some ten or twelve years. Under her administration it 
has been very prosperous. 

There have been as many as two hundred children pre- 
sent. The average attendance is one hundred and twenty. 
"The Side Chapel" was built in the fall of 1871, for 
the accommodation of this school. The little ones are thor- 
oughly drilled, and carry with them into the main school a 
good foundation of Scripture information for their future 
teachers to build on. In the absence of Mrs. Curry in Europe, 
the class is conducted skilfully and successfully by Miss Kate 
S. Winston, daughter of Professor Charles H. Winston, of 
Richmond College. Besides the above named teachers, others 
have taught well for a limited time. 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 34 1 

The full corps of officers of the Sunday- 
school is as follows : 

Wm. M. Turpin, , Superintendent. 

D. S. McCarthy Assistant Superintendent. 

Robert S. Bosher Secretary. 

Geo. A. Haynes Assistant Secretary. 

Carlton McCarthy Librarian . 

A. L. Haynes Assistant Librarian. 

N. B. Pleasants do do 

A. B. Tyree do do 

E.C.Walthall do do 

W.A.Barrett do do 

Willie Reins..... do do 

Josiah Ryland Treasurer. 

Geo. A. Hundley Collector. 

Jacob Reinhardt Organist. 

Officers and teachers 60 

Scholars 525 

Average attendance of scholars 337 
Volumes in library 847 

YOUNG MEN'S PRAYER-MEETING. 

This meeting is one of the fixed and best 
institutions of the Church. A brother writes : 
"It is difficult, indeed impossible, to estimate its 
value to the young brotherhood." The follow- 
ing sketch is from Deacon R. H. Bosher : 

The completion and dedication of the new Church edifice, 
in October, 1841, infused into the membership a very decided 
progressive spirit. There were a number of prominent and 
pious brethren ready to every good word and work, but so 
modest and shrinking that the energies of the Church were not 
fully developed. 



342 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

Our special need was a pious, gifted, and active man, posses- 
sing the affection and confidence of the Church, to take the 
lead in its various enterprises and activities. The return to the 
city of Brother James C. Crane, and his connection with the 
Church supplied in an eminent degree this need. 

He came at once to the front, and with all his noble gifts and 
energies, devoted himself to the service of his Master in bring- 
ing to light the buried talents of his servants. 

Among other valuable suggestions of Brother Crane, was 
that of a Young Men's Prayer-Meeting, which was immediately 
adopted, and put into practice. 

The first Saturday night in January, 1842, was appointed to 
begin this meeting. Six brethren, assembled in answer to this 
call, namely: Win. Tyree, Wm. G. Dandridge, J. L. Apper- 
son, Geo. J. Hooper, J. W. Meanley and R. H. Bosher. 

The meeting was a decided success from its start ; many of 
our brethren who had not participated in the Prayer and Con- 
ference Meetings of the Church connected themselves with it. 
Some of them were advanced in life and others of middle age. 
They were punctual and constant in their attendance, and con- 
tributed, by prayers, exhortations, and example, to its success. 

Among those of this class who have passed away and whose 
names are fragrant in the memory of this meeting, may be 
mentioned, Wm. Tyree, Henry Keeling, R. L. Coleman, Chas. 
Wortham, Wm. Beale, John C. Franklin, Geo. W. Atkinson, 
James C. Spotts, G. R. Myers, Jas. H. Walthall, Albert G. 
Wortham, R. B. Tyler and others. 

Of those who died in early life were Saml. C. Clopton, Wm. 
M. Gaskins, Geo. W. Keesee, Geo. M. Leftwich, Wm. Ligon, 
David R. Crane, John H. McCarthy, Henry M. Walthall, Ed- 
ward S. McCarthy, James T. Crane. 

From the organization of the meeting, no portion of our 
membership have aided the Pastors more largely in all special 
and protracted efforts ; and no other agency of the Church 
has been more potent in developing the gifts and piety of our 
young brethren. 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 343 

In its infancy, the Pastors, Deacons, and indeed many of our 
older brethren took a lively interest in its prosperity ; and were 
frequent in their attendance, exhorting and bidding our young 
men God-speed. 

This meeting has been constantly held during thirty-eight 
years past, even while our city was besieged, and the roar of 
guns was heard. Those that have enjoyed its privileges ap- 
preciate them to some extent. But all that it has accomplished 
we can only know, when we join our loved ones in that better 
land. 

LAST HALF DECADE OF THE CHURCH. 

Dr. Burrows' "History of the Church," prop- 
erly closes its details with the year 1874. Some- 
thing should be said of the Church and its 
Ministry since that time. 

For six months the Church was ably supplied 
by Dr. J. L. M. Curry, assisted by a brother- 
minister of the church. The Church would 
have unanimously numbered Dr. Curry among 
its Pastors, but he prevented the proposed in- 
vitation to its pastorate. For some three months, 
Rev. Duncan McGregor, of England, preached; 
and was subsequently " called " for twelve 
months. The call was not accepted. 

Rev. E. W. Warren, D. D., began his minis- 
try here in March, 1876, and closed it on the 
second Lord's Day in October, 1879. At the 
" Centennial " he said that Dr. Burrows was the 
Paul, and Dr. Hawthorne the Apollos of the 



344 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

Church. What name would better suit himself 
than the John of the " Old First?" In an Au- 
tograph Album, presented to him the day after 
the celebration by the " Young Ladies' Mis- 
sionary Society," the writer noticed these in- 
scriptions : " A good Minister of Jesus Christ ;" 
" Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall 
see God. ' 

Having referred to this "Presentation," which 
took place in the " Side Chapel," it may not be 
amiss to remark, that our good brother showed 
himself capable of saying pleasant with wise 
things on a pleasant occasion. A set of Reso- 
lutions had been previously sent him. From 
his reply, on receiving the Album, we copy these 
words : " In the Resolutions I received, you sent 
me the heart of the Society. In this beautiful 
Autograph Album, just presented through my 
beloved brother, Dr. Tupper, and which I accept 
with feelings of profound gratitude, you give 
me your several names, with many choice senti- 
ments and loving wishes for my future useful- 
ness and happiness. I bear in my own heai't 
the photograph of each of you. So, having your 
heart, your names, and your photographs, I 
shall henceforth enjoy the privilege of being the 
rich possessor in its entirety of ' The Young 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 345 

Ladies' Missionary Society of the First Baptist 
Church of Richmond.' " 

The speech was tender and loving — much in 
the vein of John, when he wrote: "The elder 
unto the elect lady and her children, whom I 
love in the truth * * and now I beseech thee, 
lady, not as though I wrote a new command- 
ment unto thee, but that which we had from the 
beginning, that we love one another. And this 
is love, that we walk after his commandments." 

The following summary of his work in Rich- 
mond appeared in the Religious Herald of 
October 23d, 1879. 

Not to praise him, but to tell what Dr. E. W. Warren has 
done in Richmond, and the spirit that moved him, as Pastor 
of the First Baptist Church, is the object of this article. 

In the spring of 1876, he succeeded Dr. Burrows, now of 
Kentucky, a man cultivated, eloquent, successful, and pious. 
It took a man to fill his place. The congregations did not di- 
minish under the change, but on Wednesday and Sabbath 
evenings they grew in interest and numbers. The varied re- 
ligious efforts of the membership suffered no detriment. All 
church work went forward with unimpaired vigor. 

During Dr. Warren's charge, three extra, or protracted, 
meetings were held, in which he did most of the preaching and 
labor. Over one hundred happy converts and the quickening 
of the Church are some of the results of the earnest, precious 
meetings. While he was connected with the Church, one 
hundred and thirty-four persons were received by baptism. If 
due allowance is made for diminutions by removals, and era- 
sures or " dropping " on account of unknown residence, the 
30 



346 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

increase of the roll strength of the Church may be fairly stated 
at one hundred and seventy-five. The Young Men's Mission- 
ary Society of the Church has grown in zeal and activity. It 
supports a laborer in the State Mission field, and contributes 
annually three hundred dollars to the Baptist German City 
Mission. The Ladies' Missionary Societies are also doing a 
noble work. One of them supports a native Chinese mission- 
ary, and the other assumes five hundrd dollars of the support 
of Miss Stein, our accepted missionary to China. The Sunday- 
school continues large, flourishing, and efficient. The poor, 
sick, and bereaved have been tenderly cared for, and in his 
nine hundred annual pastoral visits, all hearts in our families 
have been won by the light and love and warmth which Dr. 
Warren's presence diffused Evidently all his powers were 
consecrated to the cause of the Master, and his teaching and 
pure example stimulated the graces and developed the Chris- 
tian character of his flock. 

He leaves the Church full, strong, united, active. The Lord 
has given him success in Richmond, and the Church which 
he leaves declares that they will "part from him with sorrow, 
and he will bear to his new field their undivided love, and also 
their prayers for his greater usefulness." The saintly Payson 
advised a brother minister, " Paint Jesus Christ upon your can- 
vass, and then hold him up to the people ; but so hold him 
that not even your little finger can be seen." If our late be- 
loved Pastor had been so advised, he could scarcely more 
fully have followed the counsel, for he literally hid himself 
behind the cross. A Me:.:ber. 

Richmond, Va. 

Rev. J. B. Hawthorne, D. D., entered upon 
the pastorate of the Church on the first Sunday 
in December, 1879. The congregations have 
been very large. After crowding every pew, 
the Ushers have had to send many away for 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 347 

lack of seats. The spectacle of the galleries 
packed with young men is often thrilling. A 
new feature of the congregation is the large 
number of our most intelligent colored people 
who attend the worship. ,God has blessed the 
preached word. In a series of special meet- 
ings, conducted by the Pastor with skill and 
power, some forty were added to the Church 
by baptism — among the number, his own and 
only two children. In the Church and congre- 
gation and community, there is felt in regard 
to the new Pastor much of enthusiasm. 

Dr. Hawthorne has been elected on the 
Boards of Foreign Missions, Richmond College, 
and the Richmond Female Institute. In the 
last institution, he succeeds Dr. Jeter as its 
President. It may not be an unpardonable 
offence against delicacy to add that Mrs. Haw- 
thorne has speedily captivated the hearts of the 
members of the Church. 

The prosperity of the Church was never 
greater, if it is tested by the number and char- 
acter of its membership, the attendance on the 
devotional services, the activity of the Societies 
and the Sunday-school, the attention to the sick 
and the poor, and the harmony and love of the 
" Conference Meeting." 



348 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY, 

In some respects, this last-named meeting is 
the most important of the Church. For the 
benefit of those who are unacquainted with the 
democratic polity of Baptist churches, each of 
which is independentjn government, of all other 
churches or church organizations, it may be 
stated that at this " Conference," as it is com- 
monly called, all business of the Church is 
openly transacted. All candidates for member- 
ship, if they do not bring letters from other 
Baptist churches, are examined; and on satis- 
factory profession of their faith in the Lord 
Jesus, are accepted for baptism, which admits 
them to the Lord's Supper, before which they 
receive "the right hand of fellowship," in token 
of their full membership in this particular 
Church ; all cases of discipline are reported and 
disposed of; all plans for church work are dis- 
cussed and determined; all committees are ap- 
pointed, and make their reports ; and all officers 
of the Church are elected. To this meeting the 
Sunday-school, the Societies, and the Treasurers 
of the Church, make annual reports. This 
Conference is the Church in its organic and 
executive capacity. It has no legislative power ; 
but it has the power derived from God's word, to 
enforce the laws of the Head of the Church on 



CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 



349 



its own membership, which recognizes it as the 
highest ecclesiastical authority. At such a meet- 
ing there will naturally be diversity of opinions 
and sentiments and speech ; but the voice of 
the majority is the decision of all questions. 
The spirit of the body is as conservative and 
harmonious as it has ever been during its long 
and distinguished career of harmony and con- 
servatism. Its motto might well be the last 
text of the Pastor : " Faith, Hope, Charity— 
these three : but the greatest of these is 
Charity." 

In this connection, and as the conclusion of 
this Memorial Volume, the following report, 
from the pen of James Thomas, Jr., Chairman 
of the Committee to nominate a Pastor, may be 
appropriately recorded: 

" The Committee to whom you entrusted the important duty 
of nominating a suitable minister of the gospel for Pastor of 
this Church, have executed that duty to the best of their 
ability. 

"We were guided in our decision by the past of this old 
Church, — now nearly one hundred years old, — the chief feature 
in whose long history has been its uniform harmony — having 
one heart, one mind, one way. Another marked feature has 
been the overflowing congregations of young as well as old, 
and the extraordinary additions to the membership, when the 
pulpit was filled by a preacher of great power and eloquence 
and zeal in winning men to Christ. From all we know and 



350 CELEBRATION OF THE FIRST CENTENARY. 

can learn of the Brother whose name we present, he can and, 
if obtained, will deepen and widen for the future these two 
main features in our past history, namely, brotherly love, and 
enlarged prosperity. 

"We, therefore, unite unanimously in nominating Rev. J. 
B. Hawthorne, D. D., for Pastor of the First Baptist Church, 
with the earnest hope of his receiving the unanimous vote of 
the Church." 



INDEX. 



Abernethy, Alexander, 24, 25. 

Agassiz, Louis, 312. 

A!len, William, 145. 

Alvey, Laura, 100 

American Bap. Miss. Union, 217. 

" America's Contribution to the Wealth 

of the World," by J. L. Burrows, 

D.D.,18. 
Anderson, Jane L., 100. 
Anderson, Rev. Peyton, 226. 
Anthony, Rev. Joseph, 56. 
Apperson, James L., Treas., 155, 181, 

235, 342. 
Apperson, Mary W., 99. 
Arnold, Benedict, 48. 
Associations Bapr., Culpeper, Va , 63. 

Dover, 55, 57, 70, 119, 120, 214, 220. 

Elkhorn, Ky., 62. 

General of Virginia, 20, 32, 61, 89. 

Licking, Anti-Missionary, Ky., 62. 
Atkinson, Geo. jj/*., 77, 97, 181, 342. 

B 

B -gby, A., 239. 
Baker, Rev. Elijah, 56, in. 
Ball, Rev. Eli, 87, 272. 
Baptist Preacher, 126. 
Bargamin, Olivia, 100. 
Barrett, W. A., 341. 
Bayard, Chevalier, 307, 312. 
Boale, Wm., 342. 



Belvin, John A , 338. 

Belvin, Mrs. John A ,238. 

Benedict, David, D. D., 214, 215. 

Berry, Miss Lelia, 239, 240. 

Bibb, Ann L.,99. 

Biblical Recorder, 80. 

Blair, Rev. Mr., 67. 

Blenner, Rev. John, 102. 

Bodeker, H., 234. 

Bosher, Mrs. Elizabeth, 76, 105. 

Bosher, Mrs. E. J., 240. 

Bosher, Mrs. Gabriella, 76. 

Bosher, Georgie, 100. 

Bosher, Robert H., Deacon, 12, 13, 3P, 

84, 156, i8r, 183, 276, 341, 342. 
Bosher, R. S., 234, 341. 
Bosher, Miss Sophie, 240. 
Bosher, William, 77. 
Braine, Rev. Samuel, 70. 
Braine, Rev. William, 70. 
Braxton, Martha, 100. 
Biiel, Mr. Barney, 144. 
Briel, Mrs. B., 144. 
Broaddus, Rev. A., 17, 28, 29, 43, 57, 

69, 125, 241, 288. 
Broadus, John A., D. D., 244. 
Brockenbrough, Miss Sallie, 224. 
Brutus, 312. 
Bryce, Rev. John, 29, 69, 123, 125, 223, 

226, 241, 288. 
Buchanan, Rev. John, 225. 
Buchanon, Rev. John, 51, 66. 
Burnett, James K., 98. 



352 



IXDEX. 



Burke, Virginia, ioo. 

Burress, Miss Georgia, 236. 

lurrows, J. L., D. D., 13, 15, 18 21, 23, 

27, 28, 29, 30, 31. i6d, 170, 191, 204, 

216, 221, 286, 292, 343. 345. 
Burrows, Mrs. J. L., 221, 224, 238. 
Burrows, Rev. Lansing, 10 r. 
Burruss, Mr. C. P., 340. 
Butler, Frederick, 97. 
Butler, Thomas, 98. 



Callaham, Miss Willie, 236. 
Campbell, Alexander, 75, 156. 
Campbell, Rev. Duncan R , 86, 225. 
Carey, Rev. Lott, miss'y, 221, 222. 
Carey, William, D. D., 193. 
Carrington, Mis. Col., description of 

old Richmond, 51, 53. 
Cary, Harriet, 99. 
Cary, Howard H., 98. 
Caster, Franklin, 98. 
Caulfield, William. 97. 
Chalkley, O. H., Deacon, 155. 
Chamberlayne, Custis, 98. 
Chandler, Christo, her S., 98. 
Chariton, Miss Jane C, 175, 176. 
Chase, Irah, D. D., 125. 
Chastaine, Rev. Rene, 61. 
Chaucer, extract from, 67. 
Childery, Strphen, 77. 
Childs, Susan R. 99. 
Choir, 24. 
Churches, Baptist. 

Antioch, formerly Bear Swamp, in, 
213. 

Beulah, King William Co., Va., 79. 

Blue Creek, Ky., 115. 

Blue Run, Orange Co., Va., 62. 

Boar Swamp, now Antioch, in, 213. 

Bordentown, N. J., 77. 

Brashear's Creek, Ky., 114, 117. 

Broad Run, Fauquier Co., Va., 64. 

Buckingham, Va., 61. 

Bull Run, Fauquier Co., Va., 64. 

Cedar Creek, Ky., 116. 



Chesterfield, 59. 

Chickahominy, Va., 56. 

Crocked Run, Culpeper Co , Va., 63. 

Dover, Goochland Co., Va., 55. 

Fbenezer. Richmond, 261. 

Elk Creek, Ky.. 115. 

First African, Richmond, 81, 85, 86, 

225, 247. 
First Richmond, n, 28,45. 
Constituent members of, i 4 6. 
Members of, 1790, 1824. 68. 
" i835, 77, 81, 
" 1842, 86. 
" 1849, 85. 
" 1854, 95. 
" 1874, 96. 
State in 17S0 and 1880 compared, 
104. 
Fourth, Richmond, 87. 
Fox Run. Ky., 115. 
Fulton, Richmond, 95, 225. 
Georgetown, Kentucky, 87. 
German Church, Richmond, 102. 
Ghent, Ky., 116. 
Goldsboro, N. C, 103. 
Goochland, Va., 55. 
Hicksford, Va., 103. 
James City, Va., in. 
Jefferson, Ky., 113. 
Leigh Street, Richmond, 91, 225. 
Long Run, Ky., 115. 
Lower King and Queen, Va., 58. 
Lynchburg, Virginia, 87. 
Manchester, 95, 102. 
Manchester, African, 86. 
Meherrin, Lunenburg Co , Va., 61. 
Mill Creek, Ky., 116. 
Moratico, Va., 58. 
Mound Bluff, Miss , 87. 
New Bridge, Va., 78. 
New Hope, Wash. Co., Ky., 116. 
New Market, or Fourth, Phil., 71. 
Norfolk, Va., 125. 
Nottaway, Va., 60. 
Pine Street, Richmond, 95, 103. 
Piscataway, Essex Co., Va., 58. 
Port William, Ky., 116. 



INDEX. 



353 



Powhatan, Va., 59. 

Reeds, Caroline Co., Va., 58, 70. 

Rehoboth, King William, Va., 57, 
118. 

Second Richmond, 72, 82, 86, 156, 
158, 176. 

Second African, Richmond, 86. 

Scverns Valley, now Elizabethtown, 
Ky., 116. 

Sharon, King William Co., Va., 79. 

Shelbyville, Ky , 117. 

Sidney, Richmond, 9; , 225. 

Skinqnarter, Va., 59. 

St. Stephens, King and Queen Co., 
Va., 78. 

Third, or Grace Street, Richmond, 
82, 86. 

Tomahawk, Va., 59. 

Upper King and Queen, Va., 57. 

Venable Street, Richmond, 95, 139, 
225. 

Vernon, Miss.. 87. 
Clay, Rev. Eleazar, 59. 
Clay, Henry, 55. 
Clay, Rev. John, f ther of Henry Clay, 

55- 
Clopton, Betty, 100. 
Clopton, Judge John B., 160. 
Clopton, ,Maria G., 99. 
Clopton, Rev. S. C, missionary, 88, 

181, 232, 342. 
Clopton, W. E., Deacon, 160, 
Coghill, Miss Elizabeth, 176. 
Cogbill, Miss Susan, 176. 
Coleman, R. L , 342. 
Columbian Co'lege, 88, 125. 
Commonwealth, Extract from, 33. 
Co7Hpiler, Richmond, extract from, 34. 
Connally, Mrs. J. K., 238. 
Connolly, John, forfeited property of, 

50. 
Cornwallis, Lord 48. 
Council, Rev. James G., 101, 181. 
Courtney, Rev. John, 28, 31, 57, 67, 68, 

6 9» 7 2 . 74, 75> "7 — 12 3, 2 *6, 217, 

226, 241, 288, 293, 332, 339. 
Courtney, Miss Lucy, 275, 339. 



Covington, Theo. Sem'y, 87. 
Cowardin, Jas. A , Esq., 34. 
Ccwie, Agnes, 99. 
Craig, Rev. Lewis, 62, 
Cram, James T., 342. 
Crane, Isabella, 99. 

Crane, James G, Deacon, 30, 84, 97, 
166 — 70, 182, 221, 222, 223, 232, 241, 

2 76, 3 2 7> 34 2 - 

Crane, David R., Church Clerk, 97, 156, 

2 77, 34 2 - 

Crane, William, Deacon, 217, 218, 222, 

223. 
Crawford, H. J., 181. 
Crawford, Mrs. T. P., 237, 239. 
Crenshaw, Mrs. Winifred, 76, 99. 
Cundiffe, Henry, 98. 
Cunningham, Frank W., 24, 26. 
Curry, Rev. J. L. M., LL. D, 12, 15, 

24. 28, 30, 102, 187, 228, 242, 343. 
Curry, Mrs. M. W., 340. 



D 

Dabbs, Josiah, 97. 
Dabney, Mrs. M. F., 236. 
Dabney, William, 76, 175. 
Dagg, John L, D. D., 228. 
Dandridge, \lphonzo, 9.8. 
Dandridge. Elizabeth, 100. 
Dandridge, Jane, 99. 
Dandridge, Louisa, 100. 
Dandridge, Spottswood M.. 77. 
Dandridge, Wm. G., Deacon, 12, 92, 

155, 338, M 2 - 
Daniel, Miss Jane, 176. 
Daniels, Columbus A., 98. 
Davenport, Rev. Robert, Miss'y., 181, 

220, 232. 
Davie<, Rev. Samuel, 70. 
Davis, Chas. T., 338. 
Davis, D. O., Church Clerk, 39, 155. 
Davis, Mrs. D. O., 240. 
Davis, John G., 178. 
Dennis, Elizabeth, 99. 
Diddep, Thomas, 146. 



354 



INDEX, 



Dispatch, Richmond, 34. 
Dodson, Rev. E , 29, 129. 
Dorcas Society, 32, 235. 
'■ Dover Decrees," 75. 
Dudley, Rev. Ambrose, 62. 
Durham, Sarah, 99. 



Eager, Rev. J. H., 14. 
Eaton, T. T., D. D., 16, 33, 295. 
Ellyson, Henry K., 226. 
Ellyson, Onan, Deacon, 75, 157. 
Evans, Susan M., 99. 



Farrar, John, Deacon, 30, 84, 97. 

Farrar, Margaret, ioo. 

Farrar, Susan, 100. 

Forbes, Wm., 340. 

Ford, Pamelia, 100. 

Ford, Rev. Reuben, 55. 

Ford, Rev. Reuben, Junior, 91. 

Ford, Virginia E., too. 

Foster, Mary P., 99. 

Fox, A. P., Deacon, 12, 92, 155, 33S. 

Franklin, John, of Union Hill, 54, 111, 
145, 146. 

Franklin, John C , 342. 

Franklin, William, 145, 146. 

Frayser Lewis, 225. 

Frayser, Mrs Lewis, 224. 

Frayser, William, Deacon, 30. 

Frayser, William, Soldier, 9S. 

Freeman, John and Samuel, carpenter- 
ing of church edifice by, 151. 

Fristoe, Rev. Daniel, 63. 

Fristoe, Rev. William, 63. 

Frost — teacher in S. S., 178. 

Fuller, Richard, D. D., 171, 193. 

Furman Institute, S. C, 89. 



Gaines, M. E. M , 99. 
Gannaway, Eliza, 100. 
Gardner, Elizabeth, 99. 



Girnett, Rev. James 63. 
Garlick, Josep'i R., D. D., 101. 
Gaskill, Rev. Varay S., 89. 182. 
Gaskins, Rev. Wm. ML, 89, 96, 102, 

184, 342. 
Gates, General, 48. 
Gathright, Mr. C , 240. 
Gelbardt, Leon, M. D., 97. 
General Assembly of Virginia, 52. 
General As-oc. of Virginia, 20, 32, 89. 
George, Rev. Z. Jeter. 96, 102. 
Georgetown College, Ky., 90. 
German Bap. C ty Mission, 348. 
Girard College, 34. 
Girls' Aid Society, 32. 
Glenn, Thomas J., 75, 156. 
Goddin, 279. 

Goodall, Rev. John, in. 
Grant, Miss Sarah, 176. 
Graves, Gen. Azariah, 126. 
Gray, G., 239. 
Green, General, 48. 
Greenhow, Elizabeth H., 99. 
Greer.how, Mrs. Frances, 175, 176. 
Greenwood, Rev. James, 58. 
Gregg, Rev. Jacob, 71. 
Giubbs, Peter W., 338. 
Gwathmey, Mrs. Abby M., 340. 
Gwathmey, W. H., Deacon, 23, 92, 155, 

233, 276. 

H 

Hall, Rev. Addison, 80. 

Hall, Miss Henrietta, 181. 

Halsey, Mrs , 121. 

Hamner, Miss, 280. 

Hardgrove, Mary W., 99. 

Hardgrove, Samuel, 77, 97, 159, 249. 

Hardgrove, Thomas, 77, 97. 

Harris, Mary T., 100. 

Harris, Rev. Samuel, " A Paul among 

the Churches," 61. 
Harrison, Rev. Edmund, 102. 
Harrison, Rev. John C, 77. 
Harrison, Wm. L., 97. 
Hart, John, Deacon, 155. 



INDEX. 



355 



Hart, Rev. John, 102. 

Hart, Rev. Wm. H., 226. 

Harvey, Mrs. Samuel, 224. 

Harwooi, Wm. F., Deacon, 1 = 5. 

Hatcher, Rev. Jeremiah, 59. 

Hatcher, W. E , D. D., 15, 31, 204, 332. 

Hawthorne, J. B . D. D., 12, 13, 20, 21, 

22, 23, 29, 31, 105, 190, 242, 287, 333, 

343- 346, 347. 
Hawthorne, Mrs. J. B., 224, 347. 
Haynes, A. L , 341. 
Haynes, Geo. A., 341. 
Haywood, Mrs , 146 
Hendricks, Lewis C, 98. 
Hmson, P. S., D. D., 101, 182. 
Herndon, Richard N , 180. 
Herring, John H., 98. 
Hickman, Rev. William, 59, 113, 114. 
Hill, Miss Ida, 240. 
Hill, Owen B, M. D., 97. 
Hill, Wilson B., 77, 97. 
Hillyard, Miss Bettie, 76. 
Hillyard, John, 97. 
Hillyard, Mrs. Mary E., 76, 224. 
Hillyard, Miss Sar..h, 175. 
Hinton, Rev. Isaac Taylor, 28, 29, 81, 

82, 133, 134, 242, 288, 293. 
Hobson, Julius A., 97. 
Hobson, Mrs. Julius A., 146. 
Hodgen, Rev. Isaac, n6. 
Hodge, M. D., D. D., 170. 
Hoff, Edward H., 24, 25, 26. 
Holcombe, Mrs., 281. 
Hollins, Mrs. John, 121. 
Holmes, Susanna, 99. 
Hooker, Sarah V., 100. 
Hooper, Geo. J , 342. 
"House of one Franklin," 23, 28, 143- 

147, 213. 
Howell, R. B. C., D D., 279. 
Hoyt, U. G., Deacon. 155. 
Hudgens, Mattie Lee, 100. 
Hudgens, Thomas S., 98. 
Hudnall, Mrs. Henry, 224. 
Hugo of Lincoln, 312. 
Hume, Rev. Thomas, Jr., 32, 321. 
Hundley, Geo. A., 341. 



Hundley, Miss Sallie, 240. 
Hurst, Rev. T., 72. 
Hyde, Charles H., Deacon, 75, 157. 
Hyde, Robert, Deacon, 75, 157. 



Iage. J. T., 98. 

Ide, Geo. B., D. D., 37. 

Impri-oned Baptist Ministers. 

Baker, Rev. Elijah, 56. 

Craig, Rev. Elijah, 62. 

Craig. Rev. Lewis, 62. 

Greenwood, Rev. James, 58. 

Ireland, Rev. James, 64. 

Marshall, Rev. Daniel, 57. 

Tinsley, Rev. David, 591 

Ware, Rev. Robert, 58. 

Weatherford, Rev. John, 6o. 

Webber, Rev. William, 55. 

Young, Rev. John, 58. 



Jefferson, Thomas, 46. 
Life of by Tucker, 52. 

Jefferson, the Sexton, 26. 

Jennett, Rev. C. B., 28, 29, 138, 288. 

Jeter, J. B., D. D.. 17, 19. 28, 29, 31, 38, 
82, 84, 85, 88, 118, 134—137, 188, 189, 
198, 201, 204 — 208, 229, 231, 232, 241, 
247, 251, 263, 267, 275, 288, 293, 325, 
3 2 6, 347- 

Jeter, Mrs. J. B, 89, 238. 

"Jeter Memorial," 13, 20, 23, 31, 185 — 
203. 

Johns, Bishop, Episcopal, 263. 

Johnson, teacher in S. S., 178. 

John-on, Miss America A., 236. 

Johnson, Eleanor, 99. 

Johnson, Elijah, 181. 

Johnson, Rev. Francis C, 101. 

Jones, J. William, D. D., 33, 330. 

Jones, Martha T., 100. 

Jude, Miss Kate, 236. 

Judson, Mrs. Ann Haseltine, 225. 

Judson Female Miss'y Soc, 224. 



356 



INDEX. 



K 



Kate, John B., 98. 

Keeling, Rev. Henry, 28, 29, 69, 82, 96, 

102, 125, 126, 176, 229, 232, 233, 241, 

288, 342. 
Keeling, Rev. Henry, Sr., 125. 
Keesee, Rev. Geo. Win., 103, 183, 342. 
Keesee, Thomas W., 97. 
'• Kentucky, Baptists of," 113. ' 
Kentucky County, divided, 49. 
Kerr, Rev. John, 21, 28, 30, 73, 75, 76, 

81, 105, 126 — 133, 159, 187, T96, 241, 

288, 293. 

Extract of Sermon by. 130. 
Kingsford, Edward, D. D , 89. 
Kingsford, Mrs. Edward, 221. 
King's Mountain, battle of, 48. 
Knight, Mrs. C. T., 221. 
Knight, Miss Sallie, 239. 
Knowles, Mrs. John H., 24, 25. 
Koontz, Rev. John, 64. 

L 

Lacy, C. E., 234. 

Lafayette, General, 73. 

Lanave — teacher in S. S., 178. 

Lane, Rev. Dutton, 57. 

Latham, Prof. R. P., 281. 

Lathrop, Miss Mary, 281. 

Lee, Aaron, anecdote of, 266. 

Lee, General Henry, 48. 

Lee, R. B. Treas., 155, 234. 

Leftwich, Fannie W., 99. 

Leftwich, George M., 98, 342. 

Leftwich, Thomas 97. 

Leigh, B. Watkins, 265. 

Leland, Rev. John, 56. 

Lewis, Mrs., constituent member of the 

Church, 146. 
Lewis, F. I., Deacon, 76, 159. 
Lewis, Dr. R. A., 281. 
Lewis, Zachary, Deacon, 75, 159. 
Liberia, Rev. E. Ball visits, 88. 
Ligon, John L.,97. 
Ligon, Miss S., 221. 
Ligon, Wm., 342. 



Lipscombe, Ella J., 100. 
Lip combe, Mary, 99. 
Lomax, Rev. A. A., 102. 
Louisville, founded, 50. 
Luck, Rev Julian M., 102. 
Lunsford, Rev. Lew s, 58. 
Lytll, Frances, 100. 

M 

Major, Rev. Richard, 64. 

Manly, B., D. D., 14, 16, 19, 22, 28, 32 

90, 242, 275, 286, 292, 325. 
Mann, Wm. P., 181. 
Marion, General Francis, 48. 
Marshall, Rev. Abraham, 216. 
Marshall, Rev. Daniel, Missionary to 

Indians in Penn., 57, 216. 
Marshall, Rev. Jacob, 79. 
Marshall, Chief Justice, John, 63, 165. 
Marshall, Mrs. Maria O , 175, 176. 
Marshall, Col. Thomas, 64. 
Marshall, Rev. William, uncle of Chief 

Justice Marshall, 63. 
Mauzee, Miss Polly, 76, 99. 
McCarthy, Carlton, 234, 325, 341. 
McCarthy, D. S., 341. 
McCarthy, Edward S., 342. 
McCarthy, John H., Ch Clerk, 97, 156, 

157, 342. 
McCarthy, Julia A., 99. 
McCurdy, Miss Kate, 240. 
McDonald, H., D. D., 16, 32, 292. 
McGregor, Rev. Duncan, 24, 343. 
McKim, Robert, 76. 
Meade, Bishop, Episcopal, Extract from 

his " Old Churches," 51. 
Meanley, J. W., 341. 
Meredith, Adaline, 100. 
Meredith, Eliza, 100. 
Meredith, Nannie, 100. 
Minor, George A., 22. 
Miller, Mrs. Martha, constituent mem- 
ber of Church, 146. 
Moon, Miss Edmonia, missionary, 237, 

238, 239. 
Moon, Miss Lottie, missionary, 237, 239. 
Moore, Bishop, Episcopal, 76. 



INDEX. 



357 



Moore, Rev. Richard C, 226. 

Mordecai, Mr , extract from Reminis- 
cences of, 65. 

Morris, Rev. Joshua, 12, 28, 29, 31, 50, 
51, 65, no — 117, 214, 241, 293. 

Murphy boys, 57. 

Murray, Thomas, 145. 

Murray, Mrs., 145. 

Myers, G. R , 341. 

N 

Nelson, Miss Lizzie, 281. 
Nelson, Miss Mary, 175. 
Nelson, Peter, Deacon, 72, 75. 
Newton Theological Seminary, 88. 
Noel, Rev Theodenck, 57. 
Norton, Rev. Rich. W., 101. 
Norvell, Thomas B., 77. 
Nowell, Miss Martha F., 176. 



Page, Carter, 27. 

Page, Mrs. Martha A., 221, 224. 

Parrish, Koyal, 77, 97. 

Patterson, Margaret L., ioo, 

Patterson, R. F., 234. 

Pearce, Mrs. Patience, 99. 

Pearce, Miss S., 221. 

Pegram, Gen. J. W., 158. 

Phidias, proposed statue of Alexander, 

199. 
Philips, Mi?s Betsy, 177. 
Phillips, Rev. Barnard, 78. 
Pickens, General, 48. 
Pickett, Rev. John, 63. 
Pierson, Rev. Moses, 116. 
Pleasants, N. B., 341. 
Pleasants, Miss Nettie, (M. Antoinette) 

239- 
Pleasants, Miss Sie (Keziah) 239, 240. 
Pleasants, U. B., 24, 25. 
Plummer, W. S., D. D., 61. 
Poindexter, A. M., D. D., 278. 
Porter, Rev. Jeremiah B., 78. 
Potts, John W , 98. 
Puwel, Ann H., 99. 



Powers, R. W , 13, 338. 
Powers, Sidney, 97. 
Powers, William, 97. 
Princeton Theological Seminary, 80. 
Programme of Celebration, 13-16. 
Musical, 25, 26. 

Q 

QUESENBERRY, Ella, IOO. 

R 

Ragland, Miss Josephine, 281. 

Ratcliffe, Miss Virginia, 76, 175, 176. 

Read, Rev. Dr. A. W., 101. 

Read, Peyton G., 98. 

Redmond, Thomas C, 98. 

Reinhardt, Prof. Jacob, 24, 341. 

Reinhardt, Mrs. Jacob, 24, 25. 

Reins, F. W., 235. 

Reins, Mis; Jane, 221. 

Reins, Mrs. Jane F., 76. 

Reins, Richard, Deacon, 30, 76, 84, 97, 

161, 171, 249, 321. 
Reins, Willie, 341. 
Religious Herald, 27-33, 345> 346. 
Religious Inquirer, 126. 
Repiton, Rev. A. Paul, 80, 181. 
Rice, Rev. John H., 67, 226. 
Rice, Luther, D. D., 31, 161, 217, 218, 

219, 223, 228, 229, 241, 242. 
Richmond, Baptists in, 1780 and 1880, 
104. 

Churches in, 1780, 1880, 104. 

Church members in, 1880, 104. 

Population of, 1780, 12, 104. 

Population of, 1880, 104. 
Richmond, African Bap. Miss. Socy., 

221, 222. 
Richmond College, 23, 30, 82, 85, 88, 

103, 187, 202, 347. 
Richmond Female Institute, 22, 30, 90, 

188, 347. 
Robards, Rev. Mr., 86. 
Robertson, Rev. F. W , 193, 324. 
Rogers, John, 98. 
Rogers, Mary J., 99. 



358 



INDEX. 



Roper, Rev. David, 73, 76, 79, 222, 226, 

229. 
Roper, George, 176, 229. 
Roper, Miss Mary Frances, 79. 
Ross, Miss Sarah, 175. 
Ryland, Mrs. Callie T., 221. 
Ryland, Carrie V., 100. 
Ryland, Mrs. Josephine, 221. 
Ryland, Josiah, 338, 341. 
Ryland, Mrs. Josiah, 236. 
Ryland, Robert, D. D.. 15, 19, 28, 32, 81, 

85, 103, 138, 233, 245, 256, 279, 283, 

321. 
Ryland. Mrs. R., 120. 
Ryland, Rev. Wm. S., 101, 183. 
Rutherford, Mrs. Laura, 236. 



Sadler, R. S., Deacon, 155. 

Sands, Rev. Alex. H., 101, 182. 

Sands, J. H., 234. 

Savage, Fran is W., 98. 

Scott, Nicholas, "Old Nick," 265. 

Se;n Sang, Yong, 220. 

Semple, R. B., D. D.. in, 112, 118, 119. 

124, 214, 216, 229, 241. 
"Sewing Circle" of First Church, S23. 
Shelburne, Rev. James, 60. 
Shepherd, Mrs. Ann M., 143. 
Shockoe Mission. 234. 
Shuck, Rev. J. L , Missionary, 70, 220, 

Marries Miss H. Hall, i8j. 
Sizer, James, Deacon, 30, 76, 162, 171, 

178, 231, 249. 
Sizer, Nancy, 99. 
Slaughter, Edmonia, 100. 
Smith, A. 1$., 233. 
Smith, John D , 152. 
S .Tilth, Sarah Jane, 99. 
Smith, Virginie B., 100. 
Smither, Geo. W., 98. 
Smither, John L., 97. 
Snead, Rev. Herman, 70 
Southern Baptist Convention, 32, 213, 

220. 
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 

30 90, 188. 



Southwood, Rev. Wm., 78. 

Spare, Philip, 175. 

Spencer, Rev. Dr., in, 113, 117. 

Spilman, Lucy, 100. 

Spotts, James C, 97, 342. 

Spotts, John G., 338. 

Spotts, Mattie Lee, 99. 

Stanard, Miss Jane, 2^6, 281. 

Stanard, John C, Deacon, 84, 155, 338. 

Stanard, Robert C, 98. 

Starke, Ashton, 234. 

Starke, Joseph, Deacon and Pastor, 76, 

78, 159- 
Starke, Mrs M. T., 76. 
Starke, Patrick H., 12, 338. 
Starke, Thaddeus B., 97. 
Staughton, Wm., D. D., 125, 228. 
Steane, Martha, 99. 
Stearns, Rev. Shubael, 57, 216. 
Stein, Miss Sallie, Missionary, 239. 
Stewart, A. T., 312. 
St. John's Episcopal Church, Richmond, 

Straughan, Rev. Samuel L., 217. 241. 
Sumner, George J., Deacon, 92, 155. 
Sumter, General, 48. 
Swed.nborg, Baron, 269. 
Sweeney. Miss Mary, 236. 
Sydney, Sir Philip, 307. 



Take, Alvey, 151. 

Talman, J. Sr , 23 \ 

Tatum, Wm. H., Treas., 155. 

Taylor, G. B , D. D., 215, 226. 

Taylor, Isaac, English Author, 133. 

Taylor, Rev. Isaac, 116. 

Taylor, James B., D. D., 28, 73, 89, 138, 

217, 242, 276, 288. 
Taylor, Rev. John, 63. 
Teage, Rev. Colin, Missionary 221, 222, 

223. 
Temple, James H., Deacon, 77, 160. 
Temple, Mrs. J., 239. 
Terrell, Agnes W., 100. 
Theseus, 312. 



INDEX. 



359 



Thomas, Archibald, Deacon, 30, 77, 
164-166, 171, 179, 219, 231, 232, 241, 
249, 276. 

Thomas, Mrs. Archibald, 221. 

Thomas, Mrs. Catharine, 76, 105. 

Thomas, Rev. David, 64. 

Thomas, James, Jr., 12, 178, 182, 241, 
249, 277, 279, 338, 349. 

Thomas, Mrs. James, Jr., 221, 224. 

Thomas, Miss Mary Ella, 224. 

Thomas, Rhoda, 99, 

Thomas, W., D. D., 14, 21, 29, 69, iot, 
183, 191,214.331. 

Thomas, W. O., 183. 

Thomas, Mrs. Wi'soi, 224. 

Thompson, Herbert C, Clerk, 156. 
Supt. of S. S., 176. 
Ordained, 176. 

Thompson Sarah C , 99. 

Thornton, Anthony R., Deacon, 75, 
2^9. 

Thornwell, 193. 

Tinsley, Rev. David, 59. 

Tinsley, Rev. Jacob T., 79. 

Tinsley, Rev. Thomas, 59. 

Trowers, Thomas, 97. 

Tucker, Dr. H. H., 281. 

Tucker, Rev. W. H., M. D., 102. 

Tupper, F., 234. 

Tupper, H. A., D. D., 12, 13, 16, 28, 31, 
38, 102, 344. 

Tupp;r, Mrs. H. A., 221, 238. 

Tupper, H. A., Jr., 183. 

Tupper, P. Y., 235. 

Turner, Rev. Jesse H., 226. 

Turpin, John, 97. 

Turpin, John L., 77. 

Turpin, Rev. John O., 79, 101, 180. 

Turpin, Mildred, 99. 

Turpin, Rev. Miles, 88. 

Turpin, Dr. Peter, 28, 66 149, 150. 

Turpin, Richard, 77. 

Turpin, W. H., 13. 

Turpin, W. M., 183, 341. 

Tyack, Samuel, 97. 

Tyler, Mrs., her account of the Frank- 
lin house, 143. 



Tyler, J. P., Treasurer, 75, 155. 
Tyler, R. B., 342. 
Tyler, Washington, 98. 
Tyree, A. B., 341. 
Tyree, William, 77, 342. 

u 

University of Virginia, 102/103. 

V 

Valentine, John B., 13, 229. 
Vanderbilt, Cornelius, 312. 
Vardeman, Rev. Jeremiah, 116. 
Vass, Rev. James L., 102. 
Virginia, in 1780, 45. 

Agriculture in, 46. 

Dwellings in, 45. 

Manufactures of, 47. 

Traveli g in, 47. 

Baptists in, 215. 
Virginia Baptist Convention, 216. 
" Virginia Baptists, History of," by Dr. 

R. B. Semple, 214. 
" Virginia Baptist Ministers," by J. B. 

Taylor, D. D., ?g, 217. 
Virginia Baptist Seminary, removed, 

82. 
Virginia Education Society, 30, 187. 
Virginia ForJgn Miss. Soc, 31, 213, 217. 

w 

Walker, Rev. Jeremiah, 59, 60. 

Walker, L. D., 181. 

Wallace, Rev. Isaiah T., 101, 224. 

Waller, Rev. George, 116. 

Waller, Rev. John, 62. 

VV altars, J. B., Deacon, 92. 

Walter, Thos. U., Architect o r C ;urch 

edifice, 34, 151. 
Walthall, B. W., Deacon, 76, 159. 
Walthall, C, Deacon, 14, 15, 22, 29, 30, 

84, 155, 180, 181, 182, 231, 235, 338. 
Walthall, E.C., 341- 
Walthall, Mrs. Elizabeth, 76. 
Walthall, Henty M., 342- 



3 6o 



INDEX. 



[So. 



Walthall, James H., 97, 342. 

Walthall, J. B., 234. 

Walthall, Rev. Joseph S., 80, 

Walthall, Madison, 75, 229. 

Walthall, Mrs. Mat Ida, 221. 

Walthall, S. H., 77. 

Ward, Daniel, 97. 

Ware, Rev. Robert, 58. 

Warren, E. W., D. D., 15, 16, 19, 23, 29, 

32, 105, 239, 242, 292, 343, 345. 
Warren, Mrs. E. W., 224. 
Warren, L. R., Deacon, 1^5. 
Washington, General, in N. J., 48. 
Watkins, H. H., 234. 
Watkins, Rev. Henry W., 96, 103. 
Watkins, John, 77, 97. 
Watkins, J. B. Deacon, 14, 30, 155. 
Wayland, Francis, D. D., 193. 
Weatherford, Rev. John, 6o. 
Webber, Rev. Wm,, 55. 
Weller, D. and C. R., 152. 
Wesleys, The, 193. 
Wharton, Rev. Dr. M Bryan, 101. 
Wheeler, Wm. J., 98. 
White, Emeline, 99. 
Whitefield, Rev. George, 55, 57, 193, 

216. 
Whitelock, James W ,98. 
Wickham, William, 265. 
Williams, Mrs. Elizabeth, married to 

Rev. John Kerr, 128. 
Williams, Mi s Emma, 76. 
Williams, Jesse, 77, 151. 
Williams, John, 146. 
Williams, Rev. John, 60. 
Williams, John C, Church Clerk, 13, 

155,233,338. 
Williams, Mary W., 100. 
Wiiliams, Miss Rel.eeca, 175. 



Williams, Miss Susan, 146. 

Williams, Rev. W. Harrison, 33, 101, 

1S3, 325- 
Williamson, Rev. George, 70. 
Winfree, Ada B., 100. 
Winfree, D. B., D. D., 23, 28. 
Winston, Prof. Chas. H., 159, 281, 340. 
Winston, Miss Kate S., 340. 
Winston, Peter, Deacon, 75, 158. 
Winston, Mrs. P., 76. 
Witt, Rev. Jesse, 89. 
Woman's Miss. Socy. of Richmond, 32. 
Woodfin, George, 229. 
Woodson, Joseph, 178, 179. 
Woodward. R. L., 235. 
Wooldndge Charlotte, 99. 
Wortham, Albert G., M.D., 97, 233, 342. 
Wortham, Mrs. A. G., 221. 
Wortham, Charles, 97, 342. 
Wortham, Charles T., 233, 277. 
Wortham, Coleman, 12, 276, 338. 
Wortham, Miss Coleman, 221, 224. 
Wortham, Edwin, 233. 
Wortham, Mrs. Edwin, 224, 238. 
Wortham, Mary, 99. 
Wortham, Mary C, 100. 
Wortham, Miss Mary T., 240. 
Wortham, Richard C., 77, 97, 2J9. 
Wortham, Mrs. R. C, 76. 
Wright, Rev. John, 57. 
Wyatt, Miss C. V., 24, 26. 

Y 

Yong Seen Sang, 220. 

Young Ladies' Missionary Society, 32. 

344- 
Young Men's Missionary Society, 32, 

346. 
Young, Rev. John, 58, 118. 



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